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Massachusetts Tribe Faces Setback In Casino Case
Massachusetts Tribe has been hit with another setback in their effort to build a casino in Taunton.
The Tribe had asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to overrule a lower court decision that said the federal government had inappropriately allowed the Mashpee to hold land in trust.
The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the lower courts ruling citing that the federal government shouldn’t have let the land be held in trust.
This came less than a month after a three-judge panel presides over the case, and ruled in favor of a group of residents opposing the development of the casino.
The decision means the Massachusetts Tribe faces an uphill task in its quest to build a casino in Taunton. However, the Mashpee could ask the full appeals court to review the case, or it could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to give its decision.
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In an attempt to acquire the tribal land, the Tribe also has a different case in a Federal court in Washington, D.C. The Tribe is seeking for an alternative means of acquiring the land, and it has asked for Congress to intervene.
“There’s no question that this is a grave injustice,” tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a statement. “We will continue to fight, as our ancestors did, to preserve our land base, our culture and our spiritual connection to our homelands.”
The fact that the project has stalled brings a degree of uncertainty to the Massachusetts gambling industry. Furthermore, the state’s current three casinos have been generating abysmal revenue. There are growing concerns that the market is already saturated.
