A federal appeals court has returned to the New York state courts a dispute over whether the Shinnecock Indian tribe should be able to build a casino in the town of Southampton.
A three-judge appeals court in Manhattan issued its ruling Monday by a 2-to-1 vote. It concluded that a federal judge did not have authority to permanently prohibit the Shinnecock tribe from building a casino without complying with state and local law.
A Shinnecock Casino At Belmont? Don’t Bet On It.
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Judge Peter Hall wrote in a dissent that the appeals ruling could affect tribes in the appeals court’s region: New York, Connecticut and Vermont. He says those tribes subject to state enforcement actions may no longer have the option of a federal forum to resolve those disputes.
Attorneys in the case did not immediately return messages.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
