Friday, March 30, 2007

Huh?

State 29 pointed out this article in the Waterloo Courier about a bill that would give full faith and credit to tribal court rulings, likening it to a recognition of Sharia law. I thought I'd go check out the bill myself (SF 430) to see what protections it contained to ensure due process was afforded. The relevant paragraphs:

3. A tribal judgment shall not be granted full faith and credit if the objecting party demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence at least one of the following:
a. The tribal court did not have personal or subject matter jurisdiction.
b. The defendant was not given fair notice or a fair hearing in the tribal court proceeding.

4. The court may grant full faith and credit or decline to provide full faith and credit to a tribal judgment on equitable grounds for any of the following reasons:
a. The tribal judgment was obtained by extrinsic fraud.
b. The tribal judgment conflicts with another filed judgment that is entitled to recognition in this state.
c. As an issue of law, the tribal court was not the appropriate forum pursuant to the parties' contractual choice of forum, provided the party raising the legal issue must further demonstrate that the issue was raised at each level of the tribal court proceeding.
d. The tribal court does not grant full faith and credit under standards similar to those provided in this chapter to judgments of the courts of this state.
e. The cause of action or defense upon which the tribal judgment is based is repugnant to the fundamental public policy of the United States or this state.
(emphasis mine).

So, the Court can't enforce the judgment if notice wasn't proper but can choose to enforce it even if the judgment was obtained by fraud or is totally repugnant to fundamental rights? Oookaay.

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