Records at issue in Flandreau Santee Sioux case

Tuesday, June 16, 2009  

The state of South Dakota is asserting executive privilege in a gaming compact lawsuit filed by the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe.

The state says records kept by former governor Bill Janklow (R) and his predecessors should be off limits in the case. Janklow himself said he doesn't have any information related to Class III gaming compact negotiations.

But Judge Lawrence Piersol has said the tribe is entitled to look for evidence about the state's views on gaming. At issue is whether the state has negotiated in bad faith.

The existing tribal-state compact limits each tribe to 250 slot machines. Non-Indian gaming facilities, however, are offering thousands of machines off the reservation.

Tribes have sought to increase the limit but state governors have refused.

Get the Story:
Tribe's lawsuit over slot machines stalled by fight on evidence (AP 6/16)