Information
Name: Rocky Boy's
Tribe: Chippewa Cree
Population: 3,500
Native: 98%
Counties: Hill,
Choteau
Still, Gopher says that tribal courts should prosecute all cases in which the tribe has concurrent jurisdiction with the federal government, so that if federal prosecutors don't bring charges the tribe can still find some measure of justice.
Another reason crimes aren't always prosecuted in tribal courts is that Indians view justice from a different perspective, Gopher says.
"The people are very forgiving. A lot of times what would be considered a heinous crime in the non-Indian world is quickly forgiven here," Gopher says. "For example, if somebody physically assaults another they are usually forgiven in a couple of days. By the time it goes to jury the jury has forgiven the person, but most importantly so has the victim."
One of the few spots of social activity near Rocky Boy Agency is the gas station, casino and café, Jitter Bugs. At the establishment, which lies along Highway 85 just off the reservation, alcohol sales are legal and frequent.
Charon Parker is working the cash register at Jitter Bugs while on spring break from Montana State University-Northern in Havre. She is the daughter of former judge and lawman Mike Parker. Both her mother and grandmother worked as dispatchers at the police station and she essentially grew up at the police department. She is majoring in liberal studies and Native American studies and plans to transfer to the University of Montana in Missoula to study pre-law and eventually attend law school.
Parker, who also worked as a secretary for Gopher, says that both Gopher and Rosette represent a new class of judges who don't let family ties and favors dictate their rulings.
"We usually go through them (judges) so quick. There's judges' dropping left and right," she says. "But Joel's going to do a good job; he won't let family ties affect his job."
The most notorious case of judicial abuse of power involved Chippewa Cree Associate Judge Crystal Lavern Denny. Mention her name and eyebrows raise and eyes turn away.
On Feb. 10, 2002, Denny tipped off her cousin George Parisian about a planned federal drug bust and search of his home. Both Parisian and Denny were caught. Parisian was sent to prison and U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull sentenced Denny to five years' probation with six months of home detention and a $100 fine. She was also banned from ever again working for the tribal court or law enforcement.
Within a year Denny had violated her probation. She had received a DUI and committed misdemeanor theft, among other charges, and was sentenced to eight months in jail. In 2006 she was once again brought before a federal judge for probation violations, this time on more serious, and numerous, charges. Alcohol and cocaine use, another DUI, failure to report for drug testing, failure to participate in substance abuse therapy, and failure to notify her probation officer of contact with law enforcement got her a nine-month sentence.
Next time, her probation violations began only weeks after her release. One violation occurred on Christmas Day 2007, an arrest for driving while intoxicated. And although her blood alcohol level was .225 percent, the case was dismissed the next month by tribal prosecutors. More DUI arrests ensued and her probation was revoked.
Gopher, who was as an associate judge at the time, says that irresponsible behavior isn't unusual among people in positions of power on the reservation, though the Denny case was particularly egregious.
"I think she (Denny) would be the only judge to do that sort of thing though," Gopher says. Gopher says when he became chief judge he ordered that only he, and not associate judges, could sign off on warrants. He acknowledges there were still leaks, but says the change greatly decreased tipoffs.