Arizona State Law Journal

Bill Rice on the Future of Indian Gaming

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Bill Rice has posted his fine paper, Some Thoughts on the Future of Indian Gaming, published in the Arizona State University Law Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1, p. 219, Spring 2010. Here is the abstract:

In surveying the historical development of Indian gaming, it is apparent that several pre-IGRA legal principles had a significant impact upon the development of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and the relevant caselaw. Since the enactment of the IGRA in 1988, litigation in the federal appelllate courts, has resulted in sufficient decisional law to be instructive in its interpretation, and to prognosticate the future to some degree. In addition to historical and developmental issues, primary areas of litigation have included: 1. Management contracts, and issues relating to their approval, enforcement, and cancellation. 2. Game classification issues in class II (bingo and related games) and class III Indian gaming (generally thought of as “casino” games). 3. Tribal-State compacting regarding class III Indian gaming establishments, and the interplay between the compacting process and the game classification process. 4. The reacquisition of land by Indian tribes, and the eligibility of such lands for gaming purposes pursuant to IGRA.

Given an understanding of the issues raised by the case law in these areas, and related litigation, additional issues may be identified which may be litigated or otherwise determined in the future. This enables one to identify certain policy issues which should be considered by the National Indian Gaming Commission, Congress, the Tribes, and States in the future.

New Paper by Alex Skibine: “Indian Gaming and Cooperative Federalism”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Alex Skibine has posted his paper, “Indian Gaming and Cooperative Federalism,” forthcoming in the Arizona State Law Journal, on SSRN (also available on BEPress).

Here is the abstract:

In this article I evaluate the role of the federal Indian trust relationship in integrating, without assimilating, Indian tribes in our federalist system. I explore these issues through the lens of Indian gaming and implementation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Kevin Washburn — First Canby Lecture at ASU

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kevin Washburn posted his lecture, “American Indians, Crime, and the Law: Five Years of Scholarship in Criminal Justice in Indian Country,” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This essay is a lightly-edited and footnoted draft of the inaugural Canby lecture presented by Professor Washburn as the inaugural William C. Canby, Jr., Scholar in Residence at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 2008. It briefly praises Judge Canby and his influences on the author and then presents some of the highlights of Professor Washburn’s critical commentary on Indian country criminal justice, which reflected Professor Washburn’s most important work in the first five years of his career. It also briefly summarizes legislation recently introduced in the United States Congress that is intended to respond to several of Professor Washburn’s concerns.