The Round Valley Indian Tribe sued the sheriffs of Mendocino and Humboldt counties, along with the California Highway Patrol, late last month, claiming officers illegally raided cannabis cultivators on their reservation.
The complaint names three tribal members as plaintiffs and alleges law enforcement raids have "terrorized" the community. One of the plaintiffs, April James, is described as a grandmother who grows medicinal cannabis to treat her arthritis and a degenerative disc disorder.
Police allegedly showed up at her property with guns drawn while her 5-year-old grandson was home. The lawsuit says deputies used a tractor to destroy her marijuana plot and never presented a warrant.
According to Katherine Florey, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, county and state police in California are allowed to enforce criminal law on tribal territory under Public Law 280, a federal law enacted in 1953. But, she notes, authorities in the state cannot enforce civil or regulatory law on reservation land.
Read more at Jefferson Public Radio