Cortez Masto, Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Make It Easier for Tribal Law Enforcement to Access Electronic Evidence

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced the Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act, bipartisan legislation to provide Tribal courts the same access as their non-Tribal counterparts to electronic evidence-such as emails, social media messages, and other online communications-for criminal investigations.

"Criminals are increasingly using online tools to facilitate drug trafficking and other crimes in Indian Country, but Tribal courts often struggle to access timely electronic evidence, which impacts their ability to deliver justice for survivors and their families. I'm working to fix this," said Senator Cortez Masto. "This is a commonsense bill that will help Tribal law enforcement get the tools they need to address public safety and protect Tribal communities."

"It's important that Tribal law enforcement is able to do their job without the federal government getting in their way," said Senator Rounds. "This bipartisan bill would give Tribal law enforcement another tool to crack down on illegal activity on their lands. Cutting out the red tape and allowing Tribal courts to access evidence on their own is a step in the right direction to making every community safer."

The commission created by Cortez Masto's Not Invisible Act - which was signed into law alongside her Savanna's Act in October 2020 - issued a report with dozens of recommendations to improve the federal response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis. One key congressional recommendation was to address the challenges Tribal courts face in accessing essential information for criminal investigations. The bipartisan Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act would amend current law to:

• Include courts of federally recognized Tribes as "courts of competent jurisdiction" under the Stored Communications Act,
• Require Tribal courts to adhere to warrant procedures described in the Indian Civil Rights Act to access electronic information, and
• Recognize Tribes as a government entity under the federal statute.

This bipartisan bill has been endorsed by the National American Indian Court Judges Association, the National Native American Bar Association, and the National Native American Law Enforcement Association.

You can read the full bill text HERE.

In the Senate, Senator Cortez Masto is one of the strongest champions for Tribes in Nevada and across the country. She passed the bipartisan Not Invisible Act and Savanna's Act to protect Native women and girls, and has repeatedly advocated for additional federal funding to help Tribal communities combat the MMIW epidemic. She is also leading bipartisan legislation to make it easier for the Indian Health Services (IHS) to recruit and retain physicians, which would help improve our health care workforce's response to the rise of fentanyl addictions across the country, and she is working to pass bipartisan legislation to help recruit and retain Tribal police officers. She also pushed the Federal Home Loan Bank System to start providing funding to help Tribes and working families build more middle class homes in Nevada.

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