Tribal Justice

Tribal Justice follows two Native American judges in California as they create innovative justice systems in order to keep tribal members out of prison, prevent children from being taken from their communities, and stop the school-to-prison pipeline that plagues their young people. Vérité footage of these judges' lives and work form the backbone of the documentary, while the heart of the film follows several cases in and out of their courtrooms. Taos Proctor, a big bear of a man facing a third strike conviction, works with Judge Abby Abinanti to beat his sentence and rebuild his life. A thousand miles south, Judge Claudette White invokes the Indian Child Welfare Act to reunite a nine-year-old boy with his family. Meanwhile her teenage nephew, Isaac, faces two felony charges for breaking into cars. Tribal Justice shows these judges restoring rather than punishing offenders, modeling restorative justice in action. (Santa Barbara International Film Festival)