A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that a casino dispute between the state and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) involves federal rights and does not belong in state court.
In the ruling issued Tuesday, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV also described how federal courts have consistently sided with tribes when it comes to disputes with states over gambling rights, pointing out that the 8th Circuit found federal Indian gaming law "pre-empts state laws regulating gaming on Indian lands."
In December, Gov. Deval Patrick filed suit in state court in an attempt to block the Aquinnah tribe from its plans to open a gambling facility in an unfinished community center on its island reservation land.
The tribe controls 400 acres on the island, a summer playground for celebrities and President Barack Obama.
The state has long held that the tribe waived its rights to an Indian casino by entering into a land deal with the state in 1983, later codified by Congress in 1988, where it agreed to abide by state and local zoning bylaws. The tribe contends that the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act trumps that agreement and has received two opinions — one from the National Indian Gaming Commission and another by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs backing up that assertion.
Incidentally, Saylor indicates in a footnote those letters "provide no basis for federal jurisdiction."
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows tribes to open casinos on reservation land in states where such gambling is legal.
The Aquinnah sought to win approval to build a casino on the Freetown/Lakeville town line after the Expanded Gaming Act was approved in 2011, but the towns wouldn't go for it and Patrick refused to negotiate citing the land deal.
In November, with the federal opinions in hand, the tribe said it would seek a Class II casino on Martha's Vineyard without the state's approval. IGRA allows tribes to offer so-called bingo slot machines, without sharing any revenue with states.
In an attempt to block the tribe from moving forward, Patrick sued in state court alleging breach of contract. Within days the tribe moved to have the case heard in federal court, which led to Tuesday's ruling by Saylor.
"... The fact that the central issue in this case necessarily requires an interpretation of federal Indian gaming law suggests that the jurisdictional question here is not particularly close," Saylor wrote.
The tribe immediately declared victory in a statement issued last evening.
"We are very pleased that Judge Saylor has recognized that the question of Aquinnah's right to game is governed by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, passed by Congress in 1988, and belongs in federal court," Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chairman of the tribe's gaming authority, wrote.
"The U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Indian Gaming Commission have each provided formal legal opinions in support of our rights. We now have all of the federal approvals required to proceed with gaming on our existing trust lands, and we are confident, in light of this decision, that the federal court will confirm Aquinnah's sovereign and federal statutory rights to do so."
Brad Puffer, a spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley, referred questions to the governor's office. Patrick officials did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment Tuesday.
Ronald Rappaport, an attorney for the town of Aquinnah, which has consistently fought efforts by the tribe to use its land on the island for a casino, declined comment. "I haven't read the ruling yet," he said.
Saylor's ruling would appear to give the tribe some leverage in potential negotiations with Patrick.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which has only an application for reservation land with the BIA, was able to successfully negotiate a compact with Patrick for a casino in Taunton. That deal still faces a legal tangle of its own.
Andrews-Maltais did not respond to questions sent through spokesman Gary Bitner and Tobias Vanderhoop, the tribe's chairman, did not respond to an email.
Not everyone in the tribe supports the efforts to build an island casino, but an effort by opponents to block it failed at a tribal meeting in February.
Follow George Brennan on Twitter: @gpb227.
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