Judge Upholds Ruling on Tribal Land

Last year, the Wyandotte Nation hauled away mobile units it had operated as the 7th Street Casino in Kansas City, Kan. Arguments in a lawsuit on the status of the land are set for next week. A federal judge in Topeka has upheld a 2002 U. S. Interior Department decision that set the stage for a tribal casino in downtown Kansas City, Kan.

Another federal agency, however, has ruled that the land does not qualify under federal law for a gambling facility. That ruling also has been challenged in a case that is pending before the same judge. U. S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson this week rejected the state's argument that the Oklahoma-based Wyandotte Nation in 1996 improperly bought the half-acre downtown tract for $180,000 by using tribal funds that were not allowed for such purposes.

Robinson's 35-page opinion conceded several factual points to the state, but the judge said she would not overturn Interior's decision even though the court may not agree with the agency's ultimate findings.

May 14, 2006
Posted By Hector Rodriquez
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