DOJ submits brief to Supreme Court in Rincon gaming case

Wednesday, May 25, 2011  

The Department of Justice is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Brown v. Rincon Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, a gaming compact case.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) negotiated in bad faith with the Rincon Band of Mission Indians. Government attorneys say the state's revenue sharing demands violated the purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

"Payment of a share of a tribe’s gaming revenue to the state's general fund, where it can be used for purposes having no relation to Indian tribes or gaming, does not further any of those purposes," DOJ wrote in the brief.

The Supreme Court asked for DOJ's views back in December.

9th Circuit Decision:
Rincon Band v. Schwarzenegger (April 20, 2010)

Related Stories:
Rincon Band compact case still pending at Supreme Court (5/23)
Supreme Court asks DOJ for views in Rincon Band compact case (12/14)