1. Rick A. Garcia, Esquire Director – AVCP Tribal Justice
Forms - General
Rick A. Garcia, Esquire
Director – AVCP Tribal Justice

2. FORMS Why do we need forms?
1. Document requests from those who would like to use the Tribal Court
2. Document actions of the Tribal Court
3. Provide a written record of all actions of the Tribal Court
4. Provides a way of reviewing previous cases and actions

3. FORMS Why do we need forms?
5. Way of efficiently providing information to all parties of a Tribal Court case

4. FORMS STRUCTURE

5. All forms have the same basic structure or format:
FORMS STRUCTURE
All forms have the same basic structure or format:
1. Case Style or Heading
2. Title
3. Body
4. Signature block
5. Date block

6. All forms have the same basic structure or format:
CASE STYLE OR HEADING
All forms have the same basic structure or format:
1. Case Style or Heading

7. CASE STYLE OR HEADING 1. Case Style or Heading Should include:
1. Name of Tribe/Village
2. Court case number (assigned by Tribal Court Clerk)
3. Tribal court contact information (phone and other)
4. Name of Petitioner (Plaintiff) and Respondent (Defendant)

8. All forms have the same basic structure or format:
TITLE
All forms have the same basic structure or format:
2. Title

9. TITLE
2. Title
Title should be changed to reflect the document type. For example:
“Notice of Hearing – Child Custody”
“Petition to Use Tribal Court – Domestic Violence”
“Certificate of Mailing”

10. All forms have the same basic structure or format:
BODY
All forms have the same basic structure or format:
3. Body

11. BODY
3. Body
The body of a form is the nuts and bolts of the form. It should contain important information, which will depend on the type of form being utilized.

12. BODY
3. Body
For example:
Notice of Hearings – should include date, time, and location for hearing
Petition to Use Tribal Court – should include facts from the Petitioner and what remedy they are asking of the Tribal Court

13. All forms have the same basic structure or format:
SIGNATURE BLOCK
All forms have the same basic structure or format:
4. Signature Block

14. SIGNATURE BLOCK 4. Signature Block
If court order, should be signed by the Judge or Court Clerk
Should include printed name/title of person signing
If petition to use Tribal Court or response from Defendant, should be signed by the person filing the document

15. All forms have the same basic structure or format:
Date Block
All forms have the same basic structure or format:
5. Date Block

16. Date Block
5. Date Block
It’s very important that all filings with the Court and court documents being sent from the court contain a date. The easiest way to ensure this is to include a date block under the signature block.

17. FORMS STRUCTURE

18. Other possibilities for forms…
FORMS STRUCTURE
Other possibilities for forms…
1. Mailing lists (Certificate of Mailing)
Should accompany all forms/orders/mailings from the Tribal Court to the parties
Helps to create a record that service of documents were completed
2. Tribal Court Contact information

19. Questions?
Questions?