National Tribal Trial College

Any American Indian or Alaska Native who works with Tribal sexual assault or domestic violence programs may benefit greatly from taking part in the National Tribal Trial College Certificate in Tribal Court Legal Advocacy course. Priority admission is reserved for Tribal advocates on Tribal lands, but other individuals who show a connection to SA or DV programs will also be considered.

There is no tuition for qualified participants to take the online course. The Southwest Center for Law and Policy (SWCLAP) provides all course work and most reading assignments.

Accepted students will need to order the course textbook in order to complete the first few weeks of reading assignments. The textbook can be ordered online through Amazon. Additional information will be provided upon acceptance into the program.

In addition to the 20-week online portion of the course, students are required to attend 1 week of in-person, interactive, skill building sessions that will take place during the month of July at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, Wisconsin.

**NOTICE: Participants are responsible for the cost of their travel, lodging, and meals while on-site at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

In order to take part in the course, participants are required to have access to a computer/laptop, reliable internet connection (DSL, LAN, or cable connection desirable), access to the course website, access to a reliable telephone, as well as a current email account in order to receive course news or staff communication.

The NTTC Tribal Court Legal Advocacy Certificate consists of twenty (20) weeks of intensive online study. All coursework has been previously approved by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), the Southwest Center for Law and Policy (SWCLAP), and the University of Wisconsin Law School. The course load consists of weekly lecture videos, written assignments, quizzes, group disscussions, and student participation both online and in-person at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

**Please be advised that this course requires a time commitment of between 5-10 hours each week during the online portion and 45 hours for the 5-day, on-site portion of the course.

Course Topics include (but are not limited to): Legal representation of AI/AN victims of sexual violence in Tribal Courts, civil and criminal jurisdiction, historical and personal trauma, victims with special considerations, developing your case file, evidence, witnesses, utilizing custom & tradition, expert witnesses, restitution, creative civil remedies, sexual assault protection orders, due process, service of process, subpoenas, courtroom safety, opening statements, closing statements, direct examination, cross examination, objections, child custody, child support, visitation, enforcement of judgment and appeals, and litigating victim rights in criminal cases.

Nationally prominent Tribal judges, attorneys, and law professors from across the country instruct in the NTTC Tribal Court Legal Advocacy course. The 2019 list of course instructors is still being finalized, but below is a list of the course instructors from previous NTTC Courses:

• Hallie Bongar White (Attorney at Law/Executive Director - Southwest Center for Law and Policy)
• Hon. Montie R. Deer (Muscogee Creek Supreme Court)
• Hon. Melvin R. Stoof (Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court Judge)
• Hon. David Voluck (Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Tribal Magistrate/Judge)
• Sarah Deer (Professor of Law - William Mitchell College of Law)
• James Diamond (Director, IPLP Tribal Justice Clinic; Professor of Practice, University of Arizona – College of Law)
• Hon. James White (Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Former Supreme Court Justice for Citizen Potawatomi Nation)
• Jeff Davis ( Former Assistant United States Attorney)
• David Adams (Former Assistant United States Attorney)
• Daniel Goombi (2015 National Tribal Trial College Graduate)

2019

Applications Due: January 23, 2019

Online Course Begins: February 4, 2019

Online Course Ends: June 20, 2019

On-site Course: July 8-12, 2019

2020

(New info soon.)