Sycuan Band of Mission Indians v. Roache, 91-1648 H (BTM)
| Citation | 788 F. Supp. 1498 |
| Decision Date | 24 February 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-1648 H (BTM),91-1669 H (BTM).,91-1648 H (BTM) |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of California |
| Parties | SYCUAN BAND OF MISSION INDIANS, Plaintiff, v. Jim ROACHE, individually and as Sheriff of San Diego County; the County of San Diego, Dan Papp, individually and as a Deputy Sheriff of the County of San Diego; and Edwin L. Miller, Jr., individually and as District Attorney of San Diego County, Defendants. BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS, a/k/a Barona Group of the Captain Grande Band of Mission Indians, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe, and Viejas Band of Mission Indians a/k/a Viejas Group of the Captain Grande Band of Mission Indians, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe, Plaintiffs, v. Jim ROACHE, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of the County of San Diego; Dan Papp, individually and in his official capacity as a Deputy Sheriff of the County of San Diego; the County of San Diego, a political subdivision of the State of California, and Edwin L. Miller, Jr., individually and in his official capacity as District Attorney of the County of San Diego, Defendants. |
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George Forman, San Francisco, Cal., for Sycuan Band of Mission Indians.
Art Bunce, San Diego, Cal., for Barona Band of Mission Indians.
Mark Beesley, Deputy County Counsel, San Diego, Cal., for defendants.
The plaintiffs are three Indian tribes, who operate gaming centers on their Reservations. The plaintiffs brought this action against the County of San Diego, Sheriff Jim Roache, Deputy Dan Papp, and District Attorney Edwin Miller. In this motion, the plaintiffs seek summary judgment, declaratory relief, and a permanent injunction. The court grants the plaintiffs' motion for declaratory relief, and grants in part and denies in part their motion for injunctive relief. The court concludes the defendants lacked jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1162 and under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ("IGRA") to execute the October 1991 warrants and to criminally prosecute four individuals associated with the gaming centers. The defendants ask this court to stay the proceedings and argue the court is without jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the action or to issue injunctive relief. The court concludes it does have jurisdiction to proceed with the merits and to grant the appropriate relief, and, in the exercise of its discretion, chooses not to stay the action.
This case arises out of the execution of search warrants, issued by a San Diego municipal court, on the Sycuan, Barona, and Viejas Indian Reservations. On October 30, 1991, San Diego County Sheriff's deputies searched the Sycuan, Barona, and Viejas gaming centers, located on the respective Reservations, and seized numerous gaming devices, cash, and records. The gaming devices seized include numerous Autotab Model 101 electronic pull-tab dispensers. The District Attorney's Office subsequently commenced criminal prosecutions against individuals involved in the gaming centers for possession of a slot machine, in violation of California Penal Code § 330.1. These individuals are James Trant, Emmett Munley, Helen Chase, and Anthony Pico.
All three Bands are federally recognized Indian Tribes, with a governing body duly recognized by the Secretary of the Interior, and are located in San Diego County. Prior to the commencement of gaming operations on the Reservations, each Band was suffering severe economic depression. Specifically, the Bands faced high unemployment and were unable to provide basic governmental services to Tribal members and other Reservation residents. The revenue received from the gaming centers has been used to provide various governmental services and numerous other services, such as scholarships, nutritional programs, and housing rehabilitation.
This court has issued a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the defendants. The preliminary injunction prohibits the defendants from arresting persons for alleged violations of state gaming laws on the Sycuan, Barona, or Viejas Reservations; searching for or seizing gaming-related property allegedly in violation of state gaming laws used in connection with the operation of the gaming centers, unless the warrant complies with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(a) or is pursuant to cross-designation; implementing or continuing with criminal prosecutions against persons associated with the gaming centers for alleged violations of state gaming laws; and destroying or removing any of the seized property without prior court approval. The defendants have appealed the issuance of the preliminary injunction.
The plaintiffs now seek a partial summary judgment, including a permanent injunction and declaratory relief. Specifically, the plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that the defendants are without jurisdiction to enforce the state gaming laws on the Reservations, in the absence of a tribal-state compact, and seek a permanent injunction mirroring the preliminary injunction. The defendants raise several arguments in opposition to the plaintiffs' motion and contest the court's jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the action and to issue an injunction.
To succeed on a motion for summary judgment, the movant must first demonstrate "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 56(c). Material facts are those which "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A genuine dispute will exist if the facts indicate "a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id.
Concerning this motion, the facts are not in dispute. The parties do not dispute the circumstances surrounding the execution of the warrants or the attempts to criminally prosecute the four individuals involved with the gaming centers. Accordingly, the court will proceed to a discussion of the applicable law.
The plaintiffs first seek a declaratory judgment that the defendants are without authority to enforce state gaming laws on the Sycuan, Barona, or Viejas Indian Reservations. After thoroughly reviewing the case law, statutory language, principles of statutory construction, and the legislative history relevant to this case, this court concludes the plaintiffs are entitled to declaratory relief. The court notes, however, that its holding is limited to a conclusion that the defendants were without authority to execute the October 1991 warrants or to criminally prosecute James Trant, Helen Chase, Emmett Munley, and Anthony Pico. The court is not speculating as to future circumstances or as to whether the defendants would be without authority to enforce its gaming laws under any set of circumstances.
In its opposition to summary judgment, the defendants contend they did have jurisdiction to undertake the challenged activities and raise many of the same arguments rejected by this court in the order granting preliminary injunctive relief. The defendants' arguments are discussed in turn.
The defendants argue they had authority to execute the warrants at issue and to prosecute the four individuals pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1162. Under section 1162, Congress granted six states, including California, jurisdiction over offenses committed on Indian lands. Under this section, the state has jurisdiction over criminal/prohibitory laws, but does not have jurisdiction over civil/regulatory laws. California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202, 208, 107 S.Ct. 1083, 1087, 94 L.Ed.2d 244 (1987). The extent of the state's jurisdiction to enforce criminal/prohibitory laws is the same as that which it could exercise elsewhere in the state.
A state law will be deemed "criminal/prohibitory" and, thus, enforceable by a state on Indian land, if the state has indicated that the conduct at issue is against the state's public policy. Id. at 209, 107 S.Ct. at 1088. That a particular law is enforceable through criminal means does not necessarily indicate that the law is criminal/prohibitory. Id. at 211, 107 S.Ct. at 1089. To characterize the law at issue, the court must examine the nature of the activity and the overall legal context governing the activity. See Confederated Tribes v. State of Washington, 938 F.2d 146 (9th Cir.1991).
The defendants argue the analysis required to make this determination should focus on the particular laws prohibiting slot machines and not on California's gambling laws as a whole. The defendants' contention is without merit. The Ninth Circuit has held that, in order to protect Indian sovereignty from state interference, a court should resolve any doubts concerning the characterization of a law in favor of the Indians. Id. at 149. Thus, any doubts concerning the characterization of California's gambling laws in general or its laws relating to slot machines in particular should be resolved in favor of finding the laws to be civil/regulatory.
In Cabazon, the Supreme Court analyzed California's bingo laws and concluded the laws were civil/regulatory, rather than criminal prohibitory. In determining the characterization of the bingo laws, the Supreme Court analyzed California's gaming laws as a whole and did not merely focus on the limitations to the game of bingo within the state. The Court began its analysis by noting that "California does not prohibit all forms of gambling," and proceeded to list certain forms of gambling allowed. Id. at 210, 107 S.Ct....
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Table of cases
...(1997) 55 Cal.App.4th 1290, §5:87 Sutton v. Milwaukee, 672 F2d 644 (7th Cir. 1982), §2:44.1 Sycuan Band of Mission Indians v. Roache, 788 F.Supp. 1498 (SD Cal. 1992), §7:53 Sylvia v. Superior Court (People) (1982) 128 Cal.App.3d 309, §9:165 -T- Taggart v. Super Seer Corp. (1995) 33 Cal.App.......