Court turns down tribe’s appeal to build casino

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2000 | 9:41 a.m.

The court unanimously upheld a judge's ruling that the 18-acre parcel in question was not an Indian Territory, a special status that had to be conveyed for the $5 million project to proceed.

A lawyer who called the project an "assault on Albany Township" applauded the court's decision Monday.

"I hope that if the tribe believes its fortune is based on high stakes gambling, that they'll choose another more appropriate location to do it," said Jeffrey Rosenblatt.

The attorney general's office had argued that lawmakers intended to give an 18-acre parcel special "Indian Territory" status, allowing the tribe to create a bingo hall. But lawyers fighting it argued that the 1992 law bestowing special status was invalid.

The supreme court agreed with opponents, saying the Legislature started the process of conveying special Indian Territory status but did not finish what it started.

"Although it is apparent that the Legislature intended to begin the process of creating Indian territory in the Albany parcel, it did not complete the steps necessary to accomplish that goal," Justice Leigh Saufley wrote for the court.

Whether the Passamaquoddys plan to go back to the Maine Legislature was unclear.

Gregory Sample, a Portland lawyer who represented the tribe, declined comment on Monday.

Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Pidot said Monday that it was highly unlikely that the case would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. "This case is over," Pidot said.

The proposed project, which includes a 2,000-seat bingo hall, would have been located about five miles south of Bethel. Albany Township has about 175 year-round residents.

Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission, the zoning board for the state's unorganized towns, had approved a permit and ruled that the tribe proved an economic need for the project.

The Passamaquoddys had said the business would help to reduce the tribe's 50 percent-plus unemployment rate. The tribe would receive about 70 percent of the estimated $2 million to $3 million in annual profits.

LURC's permit approval carried several conditions, including a provision limiting bingo hall operations to 27 weekends a year and restricting the use of the hall to high stakes bingo only. Sale and consumption of alcohol on the premises would be banned.

Rosenblatt and other opponents also found problems with the LURC ruling, but the supreme court did not address those complaints.