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Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas v. Texas
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 18-40116 · judgment March 14, 2019
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
On August 18, 1987, Congress passed acts codifying relationships with two distinct, sovereign Indian tribes: the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head of Massachusetts and the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Tribe of Texas. Each Act—the Settlement Act for the Wampanoag, and the Restoration Act for the Alabama-Coushatta—prohibited gaming on tribal lands to the same extent it was prohibited by the States in which those tribal lands were located. In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which “provide[d] a statutory basis for the operation of gaming by Indian tribes” and established “Federal standards for gaming on Indian lands.” 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2721. The National Indian Gaming Commission, the agency entitled to interpret IGRA, concluded that IGRA permitted both the Wampanoag and Alabama-Coushatta to conduct bingo operations on each Tribe’s lands. The question presented is: Whether IGRA authorizes gaming on tribal lands previously governed by trust statutes that prohibited gaming, as the National Indian Gaming Commission, the Department of the Interior, and the First Circuit have concluded, or not, as the Fifth Circuit has held.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Allyson Ho
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
For respondent
Kyle Douglas Hawkins
Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP
Proceedings
- Jan 13 2020Petition DENIED.
- Dec 23 2019DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020.
- Dec 20 2019Reply of petitioner Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas filed.
- Dec 09 2019Brief of respondent State of Texas in opposition filed.
- Oct 25 2019Brief amici curiae of National Congress of American Indians, National Indian Gaming Association, and USET Sovereignty Protection Fund filed.
- Oct 25 2019Brief amicus curiae of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe of Texas filed.
- Oct 07 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 9, 2019.
- Oct 03 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 25, 2019 to December 9, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 26 2019Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.
- Sep 23 2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 25, 2019)
- Aug 14 2019Application (19A172) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until September 23, 2019.
- Aug 12 2019Application (19A172) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 22, 2019 to September 23, 2019, submitted to Justice Alito.