Federal Court Halts Michigan Tribal Casino Development

In early March, a federal trial court issued a preliminary injunction against any effort by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to ask the federal government to take a parcel into trust for use as an off-reservation casino in Lansing, Michigan.  The state asked for the injunction while it seeks a court ruling that the tribe cannot proceed with an off-reservation casino without signing a revenue sharing agreement with the other federally-recognized Indian tribes in Michigan, as specified in a 1993 gaming compact between the tribe and the state.

District Judge Robert T. Jonker ruled first that the state attorney general’s lawsuit did not violate tribal sovereignty because the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) waived that sovereignty for such a tribal gaming dispute.  The court then concluded that the state’s interpretation of the tribal-state gaming compact was the “most plausible construction” of it and that the state would suffer irreparable harm if the proposed development proceeded.  State of Michigan v. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, No. 1:12-CV-962 (W.D. Mich., March 5, 2013).