Michigan AG Bill Schuette issued a press release today announcing a case will be heard by the US Supreme Court that was initiated by his predecessor. The case involves an expansion of a casino on off-reservation property by the Bay Mills Indian Community in Vanderbilt, Michigan.
Well, it looks like Bill Schuette will get to argue a case before the US Supreme Court after all. I'm glad it wasn't a medical marijuana case.
There are two things I find odd about this press release. When the case was filed in Dec 2010 Mike Cox was the AG but the press release refers to the case as initiated by the State of Michigan, whereas AG Schuette takes credit for all actions initiated during his tenure- "Schuette challenged", "his appeal". It's this self-promoting mindset that makes people distrust Schuette as a leader.
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The second thing I found odd was a typo in the last paragraph stating a court decision was delivered in August 2013, instead of the correct 2012. It's just a typo, but it irritates me that our official governmental communications system can't catch a simple mistake that I got on the first read. Perhaps AG Schuette should have LARA Director Steve Arwood review his documents; Arwood seems to find every subtlety and nuance of a document. His recent reread of the Medical Marihuana Program's official rules has resulted in the disabled being denied a longtime discount rate and the dissolution of a panel of mostly doctors that recommended two new illnesses be added to the list of conditions qualifying a patient for medical marijuana.
This is the AG's press release:
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Schuette Takes Fight Against Illegal Vanderbilt Casino to U.S. Supreme Court
Nation’s Highest Court to Hear Important Michigan Case on Whether States Have the Right to Challenge Expansion of Off-Reservation Gambling Operations
LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear arguments regarding his appeal of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit that halted Michigan’s legal challenge to the illegal expansion of off-reservation gambling by the Bay Mills Indian Community. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the case Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community this fall.
“Today’s ruling sets the stage for an important discussion about the states’ ability to halt the unrestrained expansion of off-reservation tribal casino gambling,” said Schuette. “We look forward to making our case before the nation’s highest court this fall.”
In December 2010 the State of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Bay Mills Indian Community challenging their operation of an illegal off-reservation casino in Vanderbilt, Michigan. On March 29, 2011 U.S. District Court Judge Paul Maloney issued a preliminary injunction ordering the casino closed pending the outcome of the lawsuit. The tribe appealed, and on August 15, 2013 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed the trial court decision, declaring that the district court did not have jurisdiction under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and that the tribe had sovereign immunity. Schuette sought U.S. Supreme Court review in October 2012.
