If the Navajo courts are found not to have jurisdiction, then it is still not clear who does, Singer said.
"Someone could commit a crime [on tribal land] and no one would be able to step in," he said.
The solution would be to allow for federal prosecution, but those efforts could be hampered by a lack of funds to provide adequate enforcement--which, Singer said, would "leave Indian Country in a very bad state."
According to Wenona T. Singel, a third-year student at HLS who is vicechair of the Native American Law Students Association, part of the problem lies in misconceptions about the Navajo judicial process.
"People need to recognize that the jurisprudence of the Navajo Supreme Court incorporates Navajo tradition, practice and common law rather than relying on strictly American law," Singel said.
"Historically, that has resulted in some skepticism on the part of the American public because they don't understand how tribal custom is used in tribal courts."