Kathryn Quoted in Miami Herald Re. Seminoles and “Administrative Compact”

Kathyrn’s quoted in the September 24th edition of the Miami Herald concerning the efforts of the Seminole Tribe to operate casino-style gaming in Florida.

The Seminole have filed suit in federal court seeing to obtain the go-ahead to install Class III games. That’s the case’s posture, but as the Seminole’s attorney noted, the suit is intended to place political pressure on the state and Governor Charlie Crist to negotiate a tribal-state compact. Said lawyer Barry Richard. ``It's been years they've been asking for this. They want to get what they're entitled to.''

Kathryn’s commentary is more indirect. She notes that the suit, which asks the judge to require Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to approve an “administrative compact,” potentially is affected by State of Texas v. U.S.A., a recent Texas appeals court decision (see our post last month). Although in a different circuit, and therefore not binding in Florida, that case “casts doubt on the ability of the secretary not only to issue the administrative rules so a tribe could operate Class III slot machines but also undermines the secretary's ability to encourage the state to reach a compact because it takes away the secretary's stick,” as Kathryn put it.

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