Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island v. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, No. 04-1155 (Fed. 1st Cir. 5/12/2005)
| Decision Date | 12 May 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-1155.,04-1155. |
| Parties | NARRAGANSETT INDIAN TRIBE OF RHODE ISLAND, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS; DONALD L. CARCIERI, in his official capacity as GOVERNOR; PATRICK C. LYNCH, in his official capacity as the ATTORNEY GENERAL; STEVEN M. PARE, in his official capacity as Colonel of the Rhode Island State Police; JUSTICES OF RHODE ISLAND DISTRICT AND SUPERIOR COURTS; TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN; CHARLESTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT, Defendants, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit |
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND [Hon. William E. Smith, U.S. District Judge].
Douglas J. Luckerman, with whom John F. Killoy, Jr., were on brief, for appellant.
Joseph S. Larisa, Jr., Assistant Solicitor, was on brief, for appellee the Town of Charlestown and Charlestown Police Department.
Claire J. Richards, Special Counsel, was on brief, for appellee Governor Donald L. Carcieri.
Neil F.X. Kelly, Assistant Attorney General, with whom Patrick C. Lynch, Attorney General, was on brief, for appellee State of Rhode Island.
Before Torruella and Howard, Circuit Judges, and DiClerico, Jr.,1 District Judge.
On July 14, 2003, Rhode Island State Police executed a search warrant and confiscated inventory at a smoke shop ("the Smoke Shop") located on Narragansett tribal land. An altercation ensued between members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe ("the Tribe" or "the Narragansetts") and several State police officers, resulting in the arrest of eight tribal members, including the Chief Sachem of the Tribe.
Following this incident, both the Narragansetts and the State of Rhode Island filed suits disputing the issue of whether the Tribe's operation of a smoke shop and sale of cigarettes on the Tribe's settlement lands are exempt from the application and enforcement of Rhode Island's cigarette tax laws. The State initially filed its complaint in Rhode Island state court and the Narragansetts removed the case to federal district court in an attempt to have it decided together with the Tribe's complaint, which was brought in federal district court. The district court found that it did not have jurisdiction over the state case and remanded it to the state court. However, the district court treated the State's motion for summary judgment in its case as a motion for summary judgment in the Tribe's federal case and decided the federal case accordingly. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the State, and the Narragansett Tribe now brings the instant appeal.
We must decide three questions related to this incident. First, we are asked whether the district court could exercize jurisdiction over the State's complaint. Second, we must decide whether the Narragansett Tribe has sovereign immunity from the Rhode Island tax on cigarettes, focusing on whether the legal incidence of the cigarette tax falls on the tribe or the consumer of the cigarettes. Finally, we must determine whether the State exceeded its authority in the enforcement of its cigarette tax on settlement lands in violation of the Tribe's sovereignty.
The parties submitted this case on stipulated facts, thus, "no evidence contrary to the facts stipulated can be considered." Gómez v. Rodríguez, 34 F.3d 103, 121 (1st Cir. 2003). We review the factual findings under the clear-error standard, and the "ultimate application of the law to those facts" remains "subject to de novo review." Reich v. John Alden Life Ins., Co., 126 F.3d 1, 6-7 (1st Cir. 1997).
The Narragansett Indian Tribe is a federally recognized
Indian tribe located in the State of Rhode Island. See Final Determination for Federal Acknowledgment of Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island, 48 Fed. Reg. 6177 (Feb. 10, 1983). The Tribe is primarily situated on 1800 acres of land known as the settlement lands, which were given to the Tribe in the Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Act ("the Settlement Act"), 25 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1716. The relationship between the Narragansett Tribe and the State of Rhode Island is defined, in a number of ways, by the Settlement Act. In the mid-1970s, the Narragansett Indian Tribe brought two lawsuits in which they claimed aboriginal entitlement to 3200 acres of land in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Narragansett Tribe of Indians v. S. R.I. Land Dev. Corp., 418 F. Supp. 798 (D. R.I. 1976); Narragansett Tribe of Indians v. Murphy, 426 F. Supp. 132 (D. R.I. 1976). The Settlement Act implemented the Joint Memorandum of Understanding ("the JMOU") between the Narragansetts and the State of Rhode Island, H.R. Rep. No. 95-1453, at 25-28 (1978), reprinted in 1978 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1948, 1962-66, that resolved these lawsuits. See H.R. Rep. No. 95-1453, at 5.
Under the terms of the JMOU and Settlement Act, the State provided 900 acres to the Narragansetts and the Federal government agreed to provide funding for the purchase of an additional 900 acres. These lands comprise the 1800 acres we refer to as the settlement lands. In exchange for this provision of land to the Tribe, the State negotiated for and received the continued applicability of State law to the settlement lands. See 25 U.S.C. § 1708(a) ().
The sale of cigarettes in Rhode Island is governed by a number of statutory requirements, including taxation provisions. See R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-20-1 to 44-20-55. The State's cigarette tax scheme imposes the following requirements:
Every person engaged in the sale of cigarettes in Rhode Island must first obtain a license from the State Tax Administrator. R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-20-2. In addition to this licensing requirement, Rhode Island imposes an excise tax on cigarettes sold, distributed, held, or consumed within its borders. R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-20-12. The tax is collected through the sale of cigarette stamps, which must be affixed to all packages of cigarettes possessed within the State (with limited exceptions). R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-20-13, 44-20-18, 44-20-30. State law also requires a retailer to add a sales tax to the sale price of the cigarettes. R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-18-19.
Narragansett Indian Tribe v. Rhode Island, 296 F. Supp. 2d 153, 163 (D. R.I. 2003). The excise tax requires that distributors affix tax stamps in the proper denominations at the location where their license is issued. The stamps may be affixed to a distributor's cigarettes at any time before transferring the possession of the cigarettes. R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-20-28. When a dealer receives unstamped cigarettes, he or she must affix stamps within twenty-four hours after coming into possession of the cigarettes. R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-20-29. . . . State law makes it unlawful to sell or possess unstamped cigarettes, see R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-20-35, 44-20-36, and cigarettes not bearing stamps that are not exempt are contraband and subject to seizure by the State. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-20-37, 44-20-38.
Narragansett Indian Tribe, 296 F. Supp. 2d at 163.
Moreover, Rhode Island, with the assistance of the Federal government, has a system by which it collects sales taxes on cigarettes from consumers who reside in the State and purchase cigarettes from out-of-state dealers. See The Jenkins Act, 15 U.S.C. § 375-378 ().
On July 1, 2003, the Narragansett Indian Tribe's Tribal Council passed a resolution authorizing the opening of a tribally owned Smoke Shop to sell cigarettes. The Tribe stipulated that the purpose of opening the Smoke Shop was to provide a means for economic development for the Tribal Nation. The Tribe imported unstamped cigarettes from other states and stored them in anticipation of the Smoke Shop's opening. The Smoke Shop, which opened on July 12, 2003, was located entirely within the Tribe's settlement lands. The Shop offered unstamped, untaxed cigarettes for sale to both tribal and non-tribal members without collecting Rhode Island's seven percent retail sales tax from any of its customers. As stipulated before the court below, "a large proportion of the Shop's customers were not members of the Tribe." Narragansett Indian Tribe, 296 F. Supp. 2d at 158 ().
The day the Smoke Shop opened, the Rhode Island State Police sought a search warrant to search the Smoke Shop for alleged violations of Rhode Island's cigarette tax laws, specifically, the possession and sale of unstamped cigarettes, which is a misdemeanor offense. See R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-20-35, 44-20-36; see also id. at §§ 44-20-37, 44-20-38 (). The State of Rhode Island District Court issued the requested warrant to search the Smoke Shop that same day. On July 14, 2003, Rhode Island State Police entered the Narragansett Tribe's settlement lands and executed the search warrant on the Chief Sachem of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. The State Police confiscated the Tribe's inventory of unstamped cigarettes as well as various documents and monies. An altercation ensued between the State Police and some tribal members, resulting in the arrest of the Chief Sachem and seven other tribal members.
Both the Narragansetts and the State brought suit over this incident. The district court found that it had jurisdiction over the Tribe's case, which was originally brought in federal district court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1362 (...
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