TRIBAL COURTHOUSE

T r i b a l C o u r t W e b s i t e

Cherokee Courthouse
Cherokee Tribal Courthouse, Aquoni Road, Cherokee, NC
Tribal Court - Info Line - 828.497.1068, Tribal Court - Fax Line - 828.497.5705
PO Box 1629, Cherokee, NC 28719

Welcome to the Cherokee Tribal Court

The Cherokee court system resulted from the fusion of tribal law and Anglo-American legal institutions. It evolved from clan to court. The law was an earthly representation of a divine way in the traditional Cherokee legal system. Secularization later became the dominant theme during the eighteenth century.

The town council was the form of government in the Cherokee village. It met in public session, presided over by a speaker, secretary, and assisted by a chief and principal chief. The council assembled to assent to treaties or declare war. By the end of the eighteenth century it had evolved into a deliberative national council.

Cherokee government today still has three branches, the Legislative (Tribal Council), Executive (Office of the Principal Chief), and Judicial. Each branch is coordinated with the others but separate and distinct, so as to form a system of checks and balances. The Cherokee Judicial Branch of Government is comprised of the Trial Court, The Cherokee Court, and the Appellate court, The Supreme Court of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. These courts decide controversies in accordance with tribal law.

Civil and Criminal cases are tried before The Cherokee Court. It is in this court that witnesses and juries are used, and judgments in that court are entered by the three judges who preside over trials.

The Supreme Court of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was established on April 1, 2000, to decide questions of law that have arisen in the lower court. The three member court is the highest Tribal Court. The Court’s decisions in all cases involving tribal law are final. Only questions of federal law that the Court may decide may be reviewed on certiorari by the Supreme Court of the United States. The concurrence of two justices is required for a decision. The opinions of the Justices are published online by Versuslaw.