Press Releases
A New Casino Lawsuit
By Daniel T. Warren
Apr 21, 2006, 19:47

I have commenced an action that challenges the constitutionality of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). If the court finds the IGRA constitutional it challenges various decisions made by the Secretary of the Interior and the National Indian Gaming Commission relative to taking various parcels of land into restricted fee status for the purpose of the establishment and operation of a casino. This action also challenges the constitutionality of Part B of Chapter 383 of the Laws of 2001, Executive Law § 12, and the tribal-state compact between the Seneca Nation of Indians and the State of New York.

In 2004 I participated in the Huron Group v. Pataki litigation as a friend of the court (Amicus curiae) and urged that the tribal-state compact between the Seneca Nation and the State of New York be declared void to the extent that it authorizes gaming on land acquired after October 17, 1988 because the Seneca Nation Settlement Act is not a settlement of a land claim therefore gaming on land acquired under it does not fall into any of the exceptions under the IGRA and it was not approved under the discretionary two-part process. The papers are available at http://www.upstate-citizens.org/Huron-Group-v-Pataki.htm and my brief is available at http://www.upstate-citizens.org/SJ-Amicus-Brief.pdf .

Shortly thereafter I commenced my own action challenging the enabling legislation and the tribal-state compact. The papers for this action are available at http://www.upstate-citizens.org/warren-v-pataki.htm . This action was dismissed without reaching the merits due to the fact that the court found that the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and the Seneca Nation of New York were indispensable parties and the action had to be dismissed because I could not add them to the action because of their sovereign immunity.

Recently I have commenced a new action in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. The complaint with the exhibits is available at http://www.upstate-citizens.org/Warren-v-United-States.htm . I commenced this action after reviewing the complaint in the federal action filed in January of this year.

The web pages referenced provides more details on the arguments against the taking of this land into trust and whether gambling may be lawfully conducted on Indian land in New York. Over the next few weeks I will address each argument.


© Copyright 2003 by Speakupwny.com