Shinnecock Indian Nation

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Judge urges a plaintiff

Asks U.S. Attorney's Office to stay on case that will determine whether tribe can open casino on their property

April 27, 2004
By ANN GIVENS
STAFF WRITER

A federal judge yesterday urged the U.S. Attorney's Office to take part in a lawsuit that will determine whether the Shinnecock Indians will be allowed to open a casino on their Hampton Bays property, and gave their office 10 days to reconsider removing themselves from the case.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Platt has said that he will decide whether the Shinnecocks have a sovereign right to run a casino on their land - a decision usually made by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. But he said it's important that the federal government takes part in the case as an "involuntary plaintiff."

"They have a right to determine these questions," Platt said at a hearing yesterday, later adding, "But they don't seem to care."

Southampton Town and New York State first sued the Shinnecocks about a year ago when tribe members broke ground on a casino project on land they own in Hampton Bays. If Platt bypasses the Bureau of Indian Affairs and decides for himself whether the Shinnecocks can open a casino, that decision will have ramifications for dozens of other tribes across the country, many of whom have been waiting years for the BIA to decide whether they should be federally recognized, a prerequisite to conduct gaming.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulry has asked that his office be removed from the case because he said the BIA is the proper agency to decide whether the Shinnecock can open a casino, not the court. He said it would not be right to allow the Shinnecocks to bypass the BIA's federal recognition process while forcing other tribes to wait for a decision.

"There is a process in place here that many other groups have availed themselves of," Mulry said in court. "It would not be fair to them."

But Platt said he will not ask the Shinnecocks to wait 18 to 20 years for the BIA to make a decision in their case, a waiting period other tribes have been subject to.

Lawyers for the Shinnecock, Southampton Town and the state all say that they would welcome the U.S. government's participation in the case.

Also yesterday, lawyers for the state submitted an expert's report on whether the Shinnecock should be recognized as a sovereign nation. However, due to a privacy agreement between the parties in the case, they would not discuss the content of the report.

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