PROTECT Act of 2025
The PROTECT Act of 2025 would expand tribal sovereignty and criminal-justice powers in two primary ways. First, it amends the Stored Communications Act to recognize Tribal courts as courts of competent jurisdiction for certain warrants and disclosures related to stored electronic communications, effectively allowing tribal courts to issue warrants and handle certain privacy- and evidence-related proceedings that involve electronic storage, including for communications stored up to 180 days. Second, it broadens tribal criminal jurisdiction under the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 to cover new categories of offenses—specifically, controlled substance-related offenses and firearms offenses—when those offenses occur in Indian country and are prosecuted under tribal law. The bill also ties these changes to existing tribal prisoner programming by allowing the Bureau of Prisons to work with offenders who were prosecuted under this expanded tribal jurisdiction. Overall, the bill strengthens tribal courts’ authority in both privacy/evidence matters and criminal matters on tribal lands, while aligning federal procedures to accommodate this expanded tribal role.
Key Points
- 1Tribal courts as courts of competent jurisdiction under the Stored Communications Act
- 2- Amends the SCA to treat Tribal courts as “courts of competent jurisdiction” for warrants and related procedures, including for storage of electronic communications up to 180 days.
- 3- Expands the set of governmental entities to include Indian tribes and tribal subdivisions.
- 4- Defines “Tribal court” as a court with general criminal jurisdiction on Indian lands that can issue search warrants, and explicitly includes Tribal procedures for obtaining warrants in 2703 disclosures.
- 5- Extends and adjusts notice, civil action, and disclosure provisions to accommodate Tribal warrants and disclosures.
- 6Expanded tribal criminal jurisdiction over substances and firearms
- 7- Adds “controlled substance-related offense” and “firearms offense” to the list of offenses under tribal jurisdiction in the Indian Civil Rights Act.
- 8- Defines those terms using familiar concepts from federal drug and gun laws (e.g., drug trafficking, unlawful possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia; firearms offenses including use/possession in furtherance of a crime or by someone with a domestic-violence prohibition).
- 9- Allows these offenses to be prosecuted under the tribal criminal law where the offense occurs, expanding tribal authority on Indian country.
- 10Procedural and civil-judicial changes to support tribal authority
- 11- Updates related provisions to permit Tribal involvement in storing/disclosing communications, delayed notice, civil actions, and wrongful disclosure of certain records (including video rental/sale records) via Tribal warrants.
- 12- Includes Tribal authorities in amendments addressing notice and related enforcement provisions.
- 13Bureau of Prisons Tribal Prisoner Program
- 14- Expands the BOP Tribal Prisoner Program to cover offenders convicted under the special tribal jurisdiction described in the act, ensuring alignment with the expanded tribal criminal jurisdiction.