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Quoting Fletcher:

The case is narrowly focused on the state’s ability to sue under the tribal-state compact — not the merits of the casino question itself, said Matthew Fletcher, director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University.

News Coverage of Chukchansi Till Tap Decision

June 24, 2013June 24, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Here’s my take:

The best course of action, said Michigan State University law professor Matthew Fletcher, who monitors legal issues in Indian country, is to wait until the … government settles the tribe’s leadership dispute.

“It just seems to me there is no rush on this judgment,” Fletcher said. “Just wait until this is all over — that would be my advice if I was the sheriff’s attorney.”

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Bay Mills Press Release on Supreme Court Decision to Hear Casino Case

June 24, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Statement by the Bay Mills Indian Community regarding today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court

Please attribute the following statement to Bay Mills Indian Community

Tribal Chairman Kurt Perron

The U.S. Supreme Court decides to review Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Case

The Bay Mills Indian Community is deeply concerned by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review this case as it is in any case where it appears the Court may examine the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity. We remain confident that the nation’s highest Court will agree with our position.

Q: What is next?

A: The Tribe will be preparing its arguments to convince the Court of the correctness of the decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

BACKGROUND

Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act

The Bay Mills Indian Community received funds from the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1997 and purchased property in Vanderbilt. Any land purchased with the land claim money becomes a tribal reserve and thus can be the site of a tribal casino.

Bay Mills Indian Community

The Bay Mills Indian Community is a federally recognized Indian tribe with a reservation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In 1993, the Tribe entered a Tribal-State compact with the State of Michigan, pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Bay Mills operates two casinos on its reservation in Chippewa County, Michigan.

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