Justia U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), 25 U.S.C. 2701-2721, establishes a cooperative federal-state-tribal regime for regulating gaming by federally recognized Indian tribes on Indian lands. The Massachusetts Gaming Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 23K, sect. 3(a), establishes a licensing scheme and other standards for gaming. KG, a potential applicant for a gaming license, argued that the state Act provides unauthorized preferences to Indian tribes and on that basis treats the southeast section of the state differently, and this constitutes a classification on the basis of race in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and is inconsistent with congressional intent in the federal Indian gaming statute. The district court dismissed. The First Circuit vacated with respect to the equal protection claim and otherwise affirmed. Whether the tribal provisions are "authorized" by the IGRA such that is subject to only rational basis review is far from clear, presents a difficult question of statutory interpretation, and implicates a practice of the Secretary of the Interior not challenged in this suit. There is apparently no judicial authority addressing the question of whether a state may negotiate a tribal-state compact with a federally recognized tribe that does not presently possess Indian lands. View "KG Urban Enters., LLC v. Patrick" on Justia Law

Defendants were convicted of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy or both, and other federal crimes, incident to years of participation in a criminal organization responsible for a large illegal gambling operation. The charged conduct involved sports betting, "football cards," and video poker that spawned criminal support activities such as money laundering, usurious lending, and extortionate collection of credit. The three male defendants also sought to burn down a business. Before trial, defendants jointly moved to suppress evidence obtained through a series of wiretaps. The district court denied the motion. All defendants were convicted of nearly all of the charges, and were sentenced to terms of 271 months, 216 months, 183 months, and (the female) 21 months. The First Circuit affirmed, rejecting various challenges, including challenges to the wiretaps, and stating that there was no chance that innocent defendants were convicted. View "United States v. Albertelli" on Justia Law