The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is battling Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange over state jurisdiction at the tribe's gaming facilities. The tribe operates its Class II facilities on trust land. That should be enough to disclaim state authority but Stranger claims he should be able to dictate the types of games offered on the reservation. “Are we going to be able to make them, or is it going to be some bureaucrat in Washington?” Strange told Bloomberg News. “It’s a national issue. It raises questions of state authority. It’s right in the wheelhouse of conservative attorneys general around the country.” Strange sued the tribe in state court but the case has been moved to federal court. The Department of Justice submitted a friend of the court brief in support of the tribe. “Absent a tribal-state compact with the Poarch Band in which the tribe expressly agrees to state enforcement of state law, the tribe’s sovereign immunity bars the state from enforcing its law against the tribe,” government attorneys said in the brief, Bloomberg reported. Get the Story:
Alabama Bingo Feud Over Obama Rules Irks Cash-Thin States (Bloomberg News 9/18)
Related Stories
Opinion: NIGC
rewards Poarch Creeks for Obama contribution (08/05) Editorial: Creek war continues with fight against tribal casinos (07/31)
Join the Conversation
