Tribal warrants

AN ACT Relating to tribal warrants; amending RCW 10.32.070, 1
9A.72.010, 10.32.010, 10.32.130, 10.32.090, and 10.32.100; and adding 2
new sections to chapter 10.32 RCW. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 10.32.070 and 2024 c 207 s 8 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) Subject to the provisions of RCW 10.32.050, a place of 7
detention shall deliver or make available a person in custody to the 8
noncertified tribe without a judicial order of surrender provided 9
that: 10
(((1))) (a) Such person is alleged to have broken the terms of 11
his or her probation, parole, bail, or any other release of the 12
noncertified tribe; and 13
(((2))) (b) The place of detention has received from the 14
noncertified tribe an authenticated copy of a prior waiver of 15
extradition signed by such person as a term of his or her probation, 16
parole, bail, or any other release of the noncertified tribe and 17
photographs or fingerprints or other evidence properly identifying 18
the person as the person who signed the waiver. 19
(2) As used in this section, "authenticated copy" means a copy of 20
a prior waiver of extradition signed by an authorized representative 21
S-0956.1
SENATE BILL 5585
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Dhingra, Kauffman, Hasegawa, Lovelett, Nobles, Stanford,
Valdez, and Wellman
Read first time 01/30/25. Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
p. 1 SB 5585
of the tribal court attesting the document is a true record of the 1
tribal court waiver of extradition. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 10.32 3
RCW to read as follows: 4
The noncertified tribe demanding the extradition of a tribal 5
fugitive pursuant to this chapter shall have standing in any hearing 6
in state court testing the legality of the extradition.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 10.32 8
RCW to read as follows: 9
Upon issuing a tribal warrant, the court of a certified tribe may 10
file such warrant with the superior court of this state. Any tribal 11
warrant so filed shall be enforced by the court and peace officers of 12
this state as if it were an arrest warrant of the state.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 10.32 14
RCW to read as follows: 15
(1) If any person against whom a tribal warrant may be issued 16
pursuant to this chapter shall either, before or after the issuing of 17
such warrant, escape from or be out of the jurisdiction of the 18
issuing tribe, the sheriff or other officer to whom such warrant may 19
be directed may pursue and apprehend the party charged, in any county 20
in the state, and for that purpose may command aid and exercise the 21
same authority as in the officer's own county. 22
(2) If a person arrested escapes or is rescued, the person from 23
whose custody they made their escape, or was rescued, may immediately 24
pursue and retake them at any time, and within any place in the 25
state. To retake the person escaping or rescued, the person pursuing 26
has the same power to command assistance as given in cases of arrest.27
(3) The governor may appoint agents to make a demand upon the 28
executive authority of any state or territory for the surrender of 29
any fugitive from justice, or any other person charged with a felony 30
or any other crime in this state. Whenever an application shall be 31
made to the governor for the appointment of an agent, he or she may 32
require the official submitting the same to provide whatever 33
information is necessary prior to approval of the application.34
Sec. 5. RCW 9A.72.010 and 2019 c 232 s 10 are each amended to 35
read as follows: 36
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The following definitions are applicable in this chapter unless 1
the context otherwise requires: 2
(1) "Materially false statement" means any false statement oral 3
or written, regardless of its admissibility under the rules of 4
evidence, which could have affected the course or outcome of the 5
proceeding; 6
(2) "Oath" includes an affirmation and every other mode 7
authorized by law of attesting to the truth of that which is stated; 8
in this chapter, written statements shall be treated as if made under 9
oath if: 10
(a) The statement was made on or pursuant to instructions on an 11
official form bearing notice, authorized by law, to the effect that 12
false statements made therein are punishable; 13
(b) The statement recites that it was made under oath, the 14
declarant was aware of such recitation at the time he or she made the 15
statement, intended that the statement should be represented as a 16
sworn statement, and the statement was in fact so represented by its 17
delivery or utterance with the signed jurat of an officer authorized 18
to administer oaths appended thereto; or 19
(c) It is a statement, declaration, verification, or certificate, 20
made within or outside the state of Washington, which is declared to 21
be true under penalty of perjury as provided in chapter 5.50 RCW or 22
under the code of any federally recognized tribe. 23
(3) An oath is "required or authorized by law" when the use of 24
the oath is specifically provided for by statute or regulatory 25
provision or when the oath is administered by a person authorized by 26
state, a federally recognized tribe, or federal law to administer 27
oaths; 28
(4) "Official proceeding" means a proceeding heard before any 29
state, federally recognized tribal, or federal legislative, judicial, 30
administrative, or other government agency or official authorized to 31
hear evidence under oath, including any tribal court, referee, 32
hearing examiner, commissioner, notary, or other person taking 33
testimony or depositions; 34
(5) "Juror" means any person who is a member of any jury, 35
including a grand jury, impaneled by any court of this state , or 36
tribal court, or by any public servant authorized by law to impanel a 37
jury; the term juror also includes any person who has been drawn or 38
summoned to attend as a prospective juror; 39
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(6) "Testimony" includes oral or written statements, documents, 1
or any other material that may be offered by a witness in an official 2
proceeding;3
(7) "Tribal" means a federally recognized Indian tribe as defined 4
by 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1301;5
(8) "Tribal court" means an Indian court as defined by 25 U.S.C. 6
Sec. 1301;7
(9) "Tribal law" means the Constitution, codes, ordinance, 8
regulations, case law, and customary law of a federally recognized 9
tribe. 10
Sec. 6. RCW 10.32.010 and 2024 c 207 s 2 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 13
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 14
(1) "Noncertified tribe" means a federally recognized tribe 15
located within the borders of the state of Washington that is 16
requesting that a tribal fugitive be surrendered to the duly 17
authorized agent of the tribe, but has not received approval to 18
exercise jurisdiction under the tribal law and order act of 2010, 19
section 234, codified at 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1302, and which has agreed by 20
treaty or practice not to shelter or conceal offenders against the 21
laws of the state of Washington but to deliver them up to state 22
authorities for prosecution. 23
(2) "Certified tribe" means a federally recognized tribe located 24
within the borders of the state of Washington that (a) may impose a 25
term of imprisonment of greater than one year, or a fine greater than 26
$5,000, or both, pursuant to the tribal law and order act of 2010, 27
section 234, codified at 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1302; and (b) has agreed not 28
to shelter or conceal offenders against the laws of the state of 29
Washington but to deliver them up to state authorities for 30
prosecution. 31
(3) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in RCW 10.93.020(4).32
(4) "Place of detention" means a jail as defined in RCW 33
70.48.020, a correctional facility as defined in RCW 72.09.015, and 34
any similar adult facility contracted by a city or county.35
(5) "Tribal court judge" includes every judicial officer 36
authorized alone or with others, to hold or preside over the criminal 37
court of a certified tribe or noncertified tribe. 38
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(6) "Tribal fugitive" or "fugitive" means any person who is 1
subject to tribal court criminal jurisdiction, committed an alleged 2
crime under the tribal code, and thereafter fled tribal jurisdiction, 3
including by escaping or evading confinement, breaking the terms of 4
their probation, bail, or parole, or absenting themselves from the 5
jurisdiction of the tribal court. 6
(7) "Tribal police officer" has the same meaning as in RCW 7
10.92.010. 8
Sec. 7. RCW 10.32.130 and 2024 c 207 s 14 are each amended to 9
read as follows: 10
(1) A peace officer ((or a peace )) as defined in RCW 43.101.010, 11
limited authority Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 12
10.93.020, specially commissioned Washington peace officer as defined 13
in RCW 10.93.020, or local or state corrections officer as defined in 14
RCW 43.101.010 or such officer's legal advisor may not be held 15
criminally or civilly liable for making an arrest under chapter 207, 16
Laws of 2024 if the peace officer or the peace officer's legal 17
advisor acted in good faith and without malice. 18
(2) Chapter 207, Laws of 2024 is not intended to limit, abrogate, 19
or modify existing immunities for prosecuting attorneys for good 20
faith conduct consistent with statutory duties. 21
Sec. 8. RCW 10.32.090 and 2024 c 207 s 10 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
(1) A peace officer may arrest a person subject to a tribal 24
arrest warrant from a noncertified tribe when the warrant is 25
presented by a tribal court representative or tribal law enforcement 26
officer to the peace officer or a general authority Washington law 27
enforcement agency as defined in RCW 10.93.020 or entered in the 28
national crime information center ((interstate identification index )) 29
or Washington information center . The arrested person must be brought 30
to an appropriate place of detention and then to the nearest 31
available superior court judge ((without unnecessary delay)) the next 32
judicial day . The superior court judge shall issue an order 33
continuing custody upon presentation of the tribal arrest warrant.34
(2) The judge shall inform the person appearing under subsection 35
(1) of this section of the name of the noncertified tribe that has 36
subjected the person to an arrest warrant, the basis of the arrest 37
warrant, the right to assistance of counsel, and the right to require 38
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a judicial hearing before transfer of custody to the applicable 1
noncertified tribe. 2
(3) After being informed by the judge of the effect of a waiver, 3
the arrested person may waive the right to require a judicial hearing 4
and consent to return to the applicable noncertified tribe by 5
executing a written waiver. If the waiver is executed, the judge 6
shall issue an order to transfer custody under subsection (5) of this 7
section or, with consent of the applicable noncertified tribe, 8
authorize the voluntary return of the person to that tribe.9
(4) If a hearing is not waived under subsection (3) of this 10
section, the court shall hold a hearing within ((three days )) 72 11
hours, excluding weekends and holidays, after the initial appearance. 12
The arrested person and the prosecuting attorney's office shall be 13
informed of the time and place of the hearing. The court shall 14
release the person upon conditions that will reasonably assure 15
availability of the person for the hearing or direct a peace officer 16
to maintain custody of the person until the time of the hearing. 17
Following the hearing, the judge shall issue an order to transfer 18
custody under subsection (5) of this section unless the arrested 19
person established by clear and convincing evidence that the arrested 20
person is not the person identified in the warrant. If the court does 21
not order transfer of custody, the judge shall order the arrested 22
person to be released. 23
(5) A judicial order to transfer custody issued under subsection 24
(4) of this section shall be directed to a peace officer to take or 25
retain custody of the person until a representative of the applicable 26
noncertified tribe is available to take custody. If the noncertified 27
tribe has not taken custody ((with [within] )) within three days, 28
excluding weekends and holidays, the court may order the release of 29
the person upon conditions that will assure the person's availability 30
on a specified date ((with [within] )) within seven days. If the 31
noncertified tribe has not taken custody within the time specified in 32
the order, the person shall be released. Thereafter, an order to 33
transfer custody may be entered only if a new arrest warrant is 34
issued. The court may authorize the voluntary return of the person 35
with the consent of the applicable noncertified tribe.36
Sec. 9. RCW 10.32.100 and 2024 c 207 s 11 are each amended to 37
read as follows: 38
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(1) Any arrest warrant issued by the court of a certified tribe 1
shall be accorded full faith and credit by the courts of the state of 2
Washington and enforced by the court and peace officers of the state 3
as if it were the arrest warrant of the state. A Washington state 4
peace officer who arrests a person pursuant to the arrest warrant of 5
a certified tribe, if no other grounds for detention exist under 6
state law, shall, as soon as practical after detaining the person, 7
and in accordance with standard practices, contact the tribal law 8
enforcement agency that issued the warrant to establish the warrant's 9
validity. 10
(2) A place of detention shall allow a certified tribe to place a 11
detainer on an inmate based on a tribal warrant. For the purposes of 12
this section, detainer means a request by a certified tribe's tribal 13
court, tribal police department, or tribal prosecutor's office, filed 14
with the place of detention in which a person is incarcerated, to 15
hold the person for the certified tribe and to notify the tribe when 16
release of the person is imminent so that the person can be 17
transferred to tribal custody within 72 hours of their release from 18
all other holds. 19
(3) The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall be available 20
to any person detained under this provision. The issues in the habeas 21
corpus proceeding shall be limited to those identified in RCW 22
10.32.060 (4) and (5).23
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