The Tiguas can continue to offer “games of chance” after a federal judge did not rule on a motion filed by the Texas Attorney General’s Office to stop the tribe from offering them at Speaking Rock Entertainment Center in El Paso, Texas.
A civil and a criminal hearing recently were held in federal court regarding allegations that the Tigua tribe offers illegal “games of chance” at its Speaking Rock Entertainment Center, located on tribal land near El Paso, Texas. The a civil suit involves a motion to halt gambling activities and the criminal case involves alleged violations of state gambling laws. Officials with the Texas attorney general’s office filed the cases against the tribe June 7. The defendants are the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, the tribal council and tribal Governor Carlos Hisa.
In the first hearing, U.S. District Judge Philip Martinez, presiding over the criminal case, set a tentative trial date for September 21, 2018.
The second, two-day hearing with U.S. Magistrate Judge Leon Schydlower presiding concerned the civil case. Lawyers for both the state and the Tiguas presented arguments on whether the state’s request for an injunction to stop the alleged gambling should be granted until the criminal case is resolved.
Schydlower questioned whether federal courts even had the jurisdiction to grant an injunction. Attorney Anne Marie Mackin from the state attorney general’s office argued the Tiguas violated the federal Restoration Act, which gives the federal courts “exclusive jurisdiction.” The Act is an agreement between the government and the tribe that bans gambling on the reservation and allows Texas gambling laws to function as federal law on the reservation.
Following a lead, inspectors from the attorney general’s office investigated operations at Speaking Rock. The inspectors allegedly found the casino offering paper-based bingo, electronic “card minders” for up to 90 bingo cards, pull-tabs and “thousands of slot machines operating ‘electronic bingo,’ ” according to court documents. “It is clear, indeed, that these machines are not allowed under Texas law,” Mackin said.
Tigua attorney Randolph Barnhouse said court jurisdiction was irrelevant since the Tiguas have not violated any state or federal gambling laws. He said the bingo machines are not slot machines but “card minders,” which are not illegal. “People may not like it. People may think it looks like a casino, but it is not against the law. This is a sovereign tribe. Those card minders devices are not against the Restoration Act,” Barnhouse said.
Schydlower asked both sides if the federal court could grant an injunction or if they should wait for the outcome of the criminal case, which would allow the Tiguas to continue operating the electronic gaming machines. Finally Schydlower said the hearing was “now just beating a dead horse.” He ended the hearing without making a ruling on the motion for an injunction, and ordered both sides to file briefs regarding whether or not the federal court has jurisdiction. He did not set a new hearing date.
