Judge Hannah Bobee

Judge Carol Montavon Bealor

The newly named co-chairs of the Michigan Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum, Judge Carol Montavon Bealor and Judge Hannah Bobee, agree their respective court systems share one crisis: a lack of attorneys in rural areas.

A legal desert, as defined by the American Bar Association, is an area where there is just one attorney per 1,000 residents, or none at all.

"Legal deserts are a problem for Michigan's Tribal areas, but also extend to many rural areas in the state," said Judge Bealor, who is the Cass County Courts chief judge. "We are all justice systems, we all rely on using attorneys, so if there is a legal desert in a state court area and there is a Tribal Court in the same area, we are both experiencing the same legal desert."

Judge Bobee, the chief judge of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Tribal Court, is located in the western end of the Upper Peninsula, but said there is a dearth of attorneys across the UP. Attorneys retire, and no one is replacing them.

Judges Bealor and Bobee were selected late last month to serve three-year terms as the Michigan Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum's co-chairs, roles that mean finding common ground for their respective court systems.

A scarcity of attorneys is just one of the similarities between state and Tribal Courts, Judge Bealor said, and illustrates that creative solutions are needed to improve access to justice in both systems.

"One of the things we are doing already, but that I would like to try and grow, is our connection with law schools," Judge Bobee said. "We are trying to get young, impressionable lawyers interested in coming to work in family law and also in the more rural areas."

The forum has made connections with the Michigan State University College of Law and University of Michigan Law School, but has a goal of contacting all the law schools in Michigan. The forum is also discussing implementation of a high school program to spark student interest in legal careers.

"I love that idea and I also love the idea of trying to make meaningful opportunities for students," Judge Bealor said. "That is something we talk about as a forum, because there are a number of us on both the Tribal side and the state court side that have forged relationships with one another and tried to find ways to pique that interest."

In 1992, the Michigan Indian Tribal Court – State Tribal Court Forum was created to handle the recognition and enforcement of tribal court judgments. After the Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act was implemented in 2013, the forum in 2014 evolved into the Michigan Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum, which took on enforcement of the new law and continued its prior work.

Judge Bobee said education is an important function of the forum, and is not limited to young lawyers and law students. Many times, forum members learn from each other.

"I learn every time that I go to a forum meeting," Judge Bobee said. "It could be a new technique a colleague is using in their court — something as simple as a new form or a new funding source."

Since the forum's creation, one of its major functions has been educating lawyers, judges and others about Tribal Court judgments and the Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act, which raised the standards for protections for Native American children and families involved in state child welfare, foster care, preadoptive and adoptive proceedings. In 2024, it published a Tribal Law Handbook for Michigan Legal Practitioners.

Many people in the legal community, Judge Bealor said, don't realize there are 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan, each with their own laws and their own courts.

"I've spent a lot of my practice in the child welfare arena, so it is really important to me that we make sure people understand the whys behind the Indian Child Welfare Act and Michigan's companion law, and that we continue to honor that in terms of following the law and also following the spirit of the law," Judge Bealor said. "Those things are really important, and they also circle back to access to justice."

Making sure that courts comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act and make foreign language interpreters available are also priorities for the forum.

"We want to make sure that everyone feels like they are being heard, that they have access to get into the system but also once they are in, they can meaningfully participate," Judge Bealor said.

Judge Bealor said she recently shared a story with the forum about taking some of her staff to visit the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Tribal Justice Center. Some Cass County Court employees with decades of experience told Judge Bealor they didn't realize just how much legal work was happening in the Tribal Court.

"It made me feel good that many of them said it was the best day of their life, but it also made me feel bad that it had taken over 20 years to give that exposure to a court employee, because we are doing the same kind of work as our tribal counterparts," Judge Bealor said.

The forum co-chairs said they are always looking for opportunities to meld and work together, and family and child protective issues offer a great opportunity for that.

"I think that is one area where state and tribal courts can collaborate really well, because it does not have the same jurisdictional boundaries that, say, criminal jurisdiction does," Judge Bobee said. "I think the difference can be the Tribe has the ability to make their process as unique as they want it to be to address what is going on in their court.

"There are laws, there are procedures, there are check boxes and all of that, but what I see is a little more flexibility to address the particular situation," she said.

Judge Bobee notes there are also cultural, traditional and spiritual aspects that state courts are not always able to incorporate.

Judge Bealor said she has invited Tribal judges to be present in her court for adoption proceedings and allows the family to bring cupcakes or celebratory items that represent their culture. The Indian Child Welfare and Michigan Indian Family Preservation Acts only apply in state courts, so if a case moves to Tribal Court, Tribal Child Welfare and Juvenile Codes, which are written specifically to maximize family preservation, are applied instead.

Both state and Tribal courts have different laws to address forced removal of Native American and Alaska Native children from their homes and Tribal communities. The removal of children from their families and communities is what prompted the creation of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

"One of the Tribal judges was telling me that they interview all of the kids in child protection cases and meet with them and find out how things are going," Judge Bealor said. "They develop a real relationship with them, which is different from a state court judge."

Judge Bobee and Judge Bealor are excited to work together with the other forum members and collaborate with colleagues in Tribal and state courts to effectively continue the forum's important work and identify new ways it can make an impact.

"All of life is about changing or becoming stagnant," Judge Bealor said. "You want to carry on the good work, and then look for ways to be meaningful."

The new co-chairs wanted to make sure they are doing things to keep forum members engaged and foster open dialogue. As forum facilitators, they expect there will be times when other members take the lead and run with their own ideas.

"It is not me and my opinion or Hannah and her opinion, but making sure we carry on the legacy of what the forum has been built on, and then continue to adapt and grow to address whatever new things come down the pipeline so that we can stay relevant," Judge Bealor said.

They also have an eye on the future.

"Getting more connection with the upcoming colleagues — those who will eventually take our place — is important so there is continuity and communication," Judge Bobee said. "If we can do that, education with new judges coming in is not going to be as heavy."

–Editing by Alex Hubbard.

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