Supreme Court refuses to hear Kickapoo gaming case

Monday, October 6, 2008  

The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to hear a gaming case involving the Kickapoo Tribe of Texas.

The tribe wants to engage in Class III gaming but the state refuses to negotiate a compact. The Interior Department stepped in and said it would issue "secretarial procedures" to allow the tribe to engage in gaming consistent with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The state went to court to block Interior from proceeding. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2007 invalidated the section of IGRA dealing with secretarial procedures.

The Department of Justice disagreed with the ruling but declined to appeal and urged the high court not to accept the case. The state also opposed the appeal.

The Kickapoos were backed by tribes in similar situations but the justices without comment rejected the petition in Kickapoo Tribe v. Texas.

In related Supreme Court news, the justices granted a "Rule 46" petition to dismiss Ho-Chunk Nation v. Wisconsin. The tribe and the state recently settled their Class III gaming compact dispute.