Experts don't see merit in Alabama's anti-tribal gaming suit

Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Filed Under: Litigation
More on: alabama, class ii, jurisdiction, luther strange, poarch creek, sovereignty

The Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Atmore, Alabama. Photo © Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Legal experts don't think Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange will get very far in his gaming lawsuit against the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Strange claims the tribe's electronic gaming machines are illegal in Alabama. Experts note that the state lacks jurisdiction in Indian Country.

“I definitely would be very surprised if they are successful. That would have a huge impact on our understanding of tribal gaming law," Kathryn Rand, the co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy, told AL.Com.

Bill Rice, a professor at the University of Tulsa, also said the tribe enjoys sovereign immunity. Strange first filed his case in state court but it was transferred to federal court.

“It’s a law of dignity and a law of respect that you simply don’t drag a sovereign nation into court,” Rice told AL.Com.

The tribe offers Class II electronic machines at its gaming facilities.

Get the Story:
How tribal sovereignty was born and what that means for bingo in Alabama (AL.Com 5/8)
Tribe members say history justifies their bingo casinos (AL.Com 5/8)

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