A judge in California said Tuesday he won't stop the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians from disenrolling 130 people.

But superior court Judge Charles D. Field left open the possibility that he may consider the dispute in the future. He said the 130 people can come back to court once the tribe's enrollment committee, which acts independently of the tribal leadership, acts.

The 130 claim the committee isn't acting within the law. The group cites Public Law 280, which grants state jurisdiction over the actions of individual Indians but not tribal governments.

Get the Story:
Judge avoids tribal dispute (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 2/18)
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Judge kicks dispute back to tribe (The North County Times 2/18)
Request Denied in Pechanga Lawsuit (The Los Angeles Times 2/18)
pwlat Request Denied in Pechanga Lawsuit (The Los Angeles Times 2/18)
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Relevant Links:
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians - http://www.pechanga.com

Related Stories:
Calif. judge delays Pechanga Tribe's disenrollment (02/05)
Judge won't protect 130 from disenrollment (2/3)
Case tests Pechanga Tribe's right to disenroll 130 (02/02)
Adopted man protests exclusion Pechanga Tribe (01/15)
Pechanga tribe threatens to cut off newspaper (03/14)
Pechanga disenrollment campaign to continue (02/25)
Pechanga chairman surprised by his 'racist' statement (2/24)