United States v. Cooley
2021 United States Supreme Court case regarding powers of tribal police
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States v. Cooley (2021) was a Supreme Court of the United States case on the powers of tribal police.
| United States v. Cooley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 23, 2021 Decided June 1, 2021 | |
| Full case name | United States v. Cooley |
| Docket no. | 19-1414 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Holding | |
| A tribal police officer may, with probable cause, detain and search non-Native people traveling on public roads through a reservation. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by unanimous |
| Concurrence | Alito |
Background
Decision
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]
