Here:
BMIC Motion to Strike Appellee Briefs
gaming
The Political Economy of the Carcieri Fix
Last week’s hearing on the ongoing question of whether Congress will “fix” the Supreme Court’s Carcieri decision was a different take than earlier hearings, but still completely ignores the elephant in the room.
The first hearings were naked pleas to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision on the grounds that the decision was just plain incorrect. The increased complexity of administration of fee to trust acquisitions for tribes possibly affected by Carcieri and Interior was the backdrop there. Now it is jobs and economic development, truly important factors.
But what was missing, and what likely guarantees there will never be a Carcieri fix, was the big gaming tribes. It is the big gaming tribes that divide Indian country on this question, and even though there are only a dozen, maybe two, in question … and they have an effective veto on a Carcieri fix.
Forget Rhode Island’s concern about having their ridiculously expensive Supreme Court victory stripped away, or some Senators’ concerns about “reservation shopping.” Senators views can be changed, especially when political expediency requires it. But the powerful Indian gaming tribes’ interests are economic. So the hearings are incomplete at best, and maybe a sham at worst, because the real interests can stay quiet on the record.
Intertribal gaming revenue sharing anyone? But even that might not be enough.
Ninth Circuit Dismisses James Parks’ Discrimination Complaint against Tulalip
Here is the unpublished opinion in Parks v. Tulalip Casino Resort.
Lower court materials are here.
Former GTB Economic Development Corp. CEO Jeff Livingston Sentenced to 24 Months for Defrauding Chukchansi Casino
From the Tribal Justice News release of October 7, 2011:
Former General Manager of Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Sentenced for Defrauding Casino (U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California)
U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Jeff Livingston, 51, of Las Vegas to 24 months in prison for his conviction on six counts of mail fraud and three counts of theft committed during his employment as the general manager of Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino. The evidence at trial showed that Livingston, Chukchansi’s general manger, executed a scheme to defraud Chukchansi by making a series of personal purchases using his business credit card and other Chukchansi funds. Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino is owned and operated by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe in Madera County.
Our posts on Livingston’s motion to dismiss and indictment are here and here, respectively.
The rest of the Tribal Justice News release for October 7, 2011 is here:
City Pulse News Article and Radio Show on a Possible Tribal Casino in Lansing
Here is the news coverage. An excerpt:
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said a casino in Lansing would have a “tremendous positive impact,” but some experts disagree.
On Friday, following reports that his administration is negotiating for a casino, Bernero issued a written statement saying his “administration strongly supports the concept of a casino in Lansing because it would have a tremendous positive impact on our local economy.”
But Matthew Fletcher, MSU professor of law and director of the indigenous law and policy center said building a casino in Lansing would siphon wealth from other communities rather than create new wealth.
“Michigan Indian gaming is what I would call zero-sum, it’s grown as much as it can,” Fletcher said. “If a casino generates let’s say $100 million, almost all of that is going to come from other communities.”
Fletcher said the Indian gaming industry leveled off about 10 years ago at the $10 billion mark. Even the three non-Indian casinos in Detroit started siphoning money from the Indian casinos. [MF edit: this supposed to be $1 billion, and limited to Michigan, but no biggie]
“There certainly will be positive economic impacts (for Lansing), there will be some growth,” Fletcher said. “The significance of it isn’t going to be a whole lot.”
And the radio show, on the MSU radio station (89 FM):
Ted O’Dell of the Lansing Jobs Coalition, tribal spokesman James Nye and MSU professor Matthew Fletcher discuss Indian casinos. Katherine Draper and Bruce Witwer of the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition speak about the Homeowner Education Resource Organization program. MSU theater senior Dennis Corsi previews his new theater company’s first production, “Bare,” which opens this weekend.
Challenge to Buena Vista Mi-Wuk Compact Dismissed under Rule 19
Here are the materials in Friends of Amador County v. Salazar (E.D. Cal.):
DCT Order Dismissing FAC Complaint
FAC Opposition to Tribal Motion
Opening Brief in D.C. Circuit Appeal of Dismissal of Challenge to Lytton Band Gaming Ordinance
Here is the opening brief in Neighbors of Casino San Pablo v. Salazar:
ICT Article on Local Support for Gun Lake Casino
Here is the article (h/t Pechanga). And an excerpt:
More than 15 entities, including Wayland Township, Allegan County, the Allegan Area Education Service Agency, the cities of Wayland and Allegan, the Barry County Chamber of Commerce, the Barry County Economic Development Alliance, the Gun Lake Business Association, and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Michigan have filed a collective amici curiae – friend of the court – brief in the petition for certiorari filed with the high court by the Interior Department and the Match-E-Nash-E-Wish Band of Pottawatomi (the Gun Lake Tribe) Indians versus David Patchak. The high court has been asked to review a ruling issued by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last January that said Patchak, a former trustee in Wayland County, Michigan, has standing to bring a lawsuit against the Interior Department for taking into trust 147 acres in Bradley, Michigan, near Grand Rapids where the tribe operates its casino. The casino, which opened in February, created 900 new jobs and has brought a new wave of prosperity to local hotels, restaurants, vendors and other businesses in an area that had a reported 11.9 percent unemployment rate.
“Collectively, the amici curiae represent numerous individuals and businesses that support and have been positively affected by the Band’s economic development activities on the trust land. They submit this brief to explain the substantial local benefits that arise from the cooperative and mutually reinforcing economic development efforts of the Band, the regional governments, and local businesses,” the amici wrote. “The amici curiae urge this Court to grant the petitions for certiorari to resolve the debilitating uncertainty and economic instability created by the court of appeals’ decision, which threatens to stifle economic development in a state and region that has endured a disproportionate amount of economic suffering in recent years.”
Federal Court Dismisses FLSA Claim against Tribal Casino Resort
Here are the materials in Larimer v. Konocti Vista Casino Resort, Marina & RV Park (N.D. Cal.):
NCAI Cert Stage Amicus Brief in Patchak Case
Here:
Turtle Talk 
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