SEARCH NEWS:

 

California Casino's Fate Decided in Federal Courtroom

WHAT: U.S. Federal District Court Judge David Levi will hear oral arguments in a case (Artichoke Joe's v. Norton) that will determine whether Casino San Pablo becomes the first Nevada-style Indian casino in the state. Plaintiffs in Artichoke Joe's II are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the government from taking title to Casino San Pablo and turning it over to the Sonoma County Lytton Band of Pomo Indians and their out-of-state gambling investors as new sovereign Indian land.

WHEN: Friday, March 7, 2003, 9 a.m.(this case will be the fourth-and last case-heard on Friday)

WHERE: U.S. Federal Courthouse, 5th & I Streets, Sacramento, Judge Levi's Courtroom #7, 14th Floor

BACKGROUND: In January of this year, the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs acknowledged that the Lytton had never completed the required steps to become organized as a tribe under federal law. These revelations bolster Casino San Pablo opponents' claim that the eleventh-hour land grab pushed by Congressman George Miller, which gave the Lytton Casino San Pablo and back-dated the acquisition to avoid federal controls on gaming to protect local communities, is illegal since the Lytton Indians are not a tribe. Only recognized tribes can operate an Indian gambling casino.

"First and foremost, the voters who approved Indian Gaming and Proposition 1A never intended to allow for an Indian casino in the heart of the Bay Area or any other urban area," said Bo Links, attorney for plaintiffs in the case.

"Proposition 1A was about gaming on traditional Indian land, not gaming in the heart of California's urban areas. We've contended all along that the Lytton are not a tribe and that the existing cardroom in San Pablo is not an Indian reservation. The revelation that the Lytton Indians are not a properly organized tribe exposes the sham of the Miller Amendment. It makes the San Pablo land grab null and void. Since the Lytton fail to qualify as a tribe, they don't qualify to operate a casino under Prop. 1A. They can't be given land in the middle of downtown San Pablo and they certainly can't be allowed to operate a Nevada-style there."

This hearing was originally scheduled for February 7, but was continued after Judge David Levi learned of the "surprising" disclosure by the federal defendants that the Lytton has not completed tribal organization. He ordered additional information on the Lytton tribal status be provided to the court, and that information will be debated at Friday's hearing.

Thousands of Contra Costa County residents and citizens from throughout the Bay Area have protested the proposed Indian casino in San Pablo. Citizens have voiced concern over the lack of involvement from local residents, the potential harm to the local environment, increased traffic, crime and problem gambling, and have rejected the notion of locating a massive Nevada-style casino in an urban area near homes, schools and businesses.

< Gaming News