A federal judge recently moved back to Mobile County, Alabama Circuit Court a case involving the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office’s seizure and eventual destruction of 50 gambling machines from the MOWA Choctaw Entertainment Center. Deputies raided the Mount Vernon facility in November 2013 and removed three computers and ,000 in cash in addition to the gaming machines.
Attorneys for the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians said the tribe had sovereign immunity, and that the case could not be heard in state court because the judge lacked jurisdiction. That forced the legal proceedings to move to federal court. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sonia F. Bivins, in a 27-page analysis of the case, said the tribe could not challenge the state’s authority on the basis of tribal immunity. Bivins also disagree with the tribe’s claim that the Indian Gaming Regulation Act pre-empted the state’s authority. Bivins wrote, “Because IGRA’s text unambiguously limits its scope to gaming by tribes that have obtained federal recognition, the statute does not apply to tribal groups such as the MOWA Tribe who have not obtained such recognition from the Secretary of Interior.”
Bivins also ruled against a the tribe’s claim that their civil rights were violated.
MOWA Tribal Attorney Sam Hill, representing the defendants, said Bivins’ ruling lacked an “overlay” of American Indian law and that certain “assumptions in Indian law” were not addressed. He added the tribe plans to file objections.
A federal court judge will review Bivins’ report and recommendations.
