U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson Announces $450,000 Award to Laguna Pueblo

 Grant will allow Laguna Pueblo and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to appoint a Special Assistant United States Attorney

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –John C. Anderson, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that the Laguna Pueblo will receive a $450,000 grant through the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) to hire or retain a tribal prosecutor designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA).

 “This is an exciting opportunity to implement a creative approach to addressing domestic violence in tribal communities,” said Anderson. “Domestic violence is unbound by demographics and affects families and communities across New Mexico and the United States. I’m pleased to partner with the Office of Violence Against Women and the Laguna Pueblo in this initiative to facilitate prosecution of domestic violence and other crimes with special consideration for jurisdictional areas in Indian country.”

Through this special initiative, OVW and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) are partnering with United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) and the Executive Office of United States Attorneys (EOUSA) to support tribes and USAOs in their investigation and prosecution of Indian country criminal cases. Tribes will receive funds to work with their USAO partner (and other tribes in their federal judicial district, as appropriate) to hire or retain a mutually agreed upon tribal prosecutor to be designated as SAUSA. The Tribe and the USAO will appoint the Tribal SAUSA to a three-year fellowship position divided between the USAO and the tribal prosecutor’s office, and the SAUSA will be trained as a federal prosecutor.

The cross-designated prosecutor will maintain an active caseload, while also helping to promote higher-quality investigations and better inter-governmental communication. The SAUSA must focus at least 50 percent of their full-time position on prosecuting cases involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The remaining 50 percent of the SAUSA’s position can be dedicated to the same or any other types of criminal cases that the tribe and USAO agree are a priority for this position.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For more information from the Department of Justice relating to domestic violence, visit:

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/domestic-violence

For more information about this grant, contact the Outreach and Communications Division Office at OVW at (202) 307-6026.