United States v. Cooley | |
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Argued March 23, 2021 Decided June 1, 2021 | |
Full case name | United States v. Cooley |
Docket no. | 19-1414 |
Argument | Oral argument |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Breyer, joined by unanimous |
Concurrence | Alito |
United States v. Cooley (2021) was a Supreme Court of the United States case on the powers of tribal police.
The case stemmed from a 2016 incident where a tribal police officer detained a non-tribal motorist found with guns and drugs. [1] [2] In lower courts it had been argued that evidence gathered by Native American police should not be admissible in cases regarding non-Native Americans. [3]
The case was argued on March 23, 2021. [4] The case was decided unanimously on June 1, 2021, allowing tribal police to detain and investigate those suspected of criminal activity on tribal lands regardless of racial status. [5] [4] The court found that in such cases non-natives may be detained when on a public right of way inside a reservation. [6] [7] Non-native detainees may be detained for a reasonable length of time until non-tribal police can arrive at the scene to handle the incident. [5] The opinion for the case was written by Justice Stephen Breyer. [8] A concurring opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito. [9]