Free Press columnist Shawn Windsor and sports writer Dave Birkett break down a convincing Lions win over the Packers, and look ahead to the NFC North division race in the second half of the season Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
1 of 8
A San Antonio woman visits Sutherland Springs to pray for the 26 people killed at a church in the small Texas town while law enforcement continues its investigation.
2 of 8
Chris Compton, of Holy, and founder of Goose Busters, works with his 3-year-old border collie Ellee to chase geese from businesses that include golf courses. Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press
3 of 8
Famous guitars once used by Springsteen, McCartney and Madonna go up for grabs. Video provided by Reuters Newslook
4 of 8
A hippo escaped its enclosure at a zoo, but it returned home shortly after. Wochit
5 of 8
This prime unit in Detroit’s 200 River Place has almost 3,000 square feet and a long view of the Detroit River. Wochit
6 of 8
Twenty-five years after Malice Green was killed in Detroit, aome key people in the case have died, others have kept a low profile, and some now have high-profile jobs. Here’s what happened to the key players in the Green case. Wochit
7 of 8
The Free Press Top Workplaces Awards were recently awarded. Wochit
8 of 8
Watch: Lions play complete game in Green Bay
Prayers for victims in Sutherland Springs
Goose Busters
Guitar used by Jimi Hendrix to sell at auction
Hippo escapes from zoo in Israel
Detroit loft has view of Detroit River
Malice Green case: Where are they now?
These are the best places to work in Michigan
James Nye, far right, spokesman for the Gun Lake Tribe, arrives at the Supreme Court with members of the Gun Lake tribal council, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Washington.(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices had tough questions Tuesday for a lawyer representing a Michigan man suing over a Native American tribe's casino, with justices seeming to suggest that Congress acted properly when it shut down the lawsuit.
It is the second time the case has appeared before the court.
David Patchak sued in 2008 after the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, got the go-ahead to build a casino on land near his rural property in Wayland Township. Patchak said the casino, which is about a 3-mile drive away, would increase traffic and pollution and change the character of the area. And he argued that the federal government had improperly set aside the land for use by the tribe.
Read more:
A federal court initially dismissed his lawsuit, but an appeals court revived it, and in 2012, more than a year after the casino opened, the Supreme Court ruled that Patchak could proceed with his case.
Congress had other ideas. In 2014, it passed a law shutting down any further litigation over the casino. As a result, Patchak's lawsuit was dismissed.
James Nye, spokesman for the Gun Lake Tribe, left, arrives at the Supreme Court with members of the Gun Lake tribal council including Phyllis Davis, right, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Washington. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)
Patchak's lawyer Scott E. Gant told the justices Tuesday in oral arguments that Congress went too far when it passed the law, violating the separation-of-powers principle in the Constitution. Gant told the justices that Congress was improperly directing the result in Patchak's case.
But Justice Elena Kagan told Gant that the Supreme Court has said "over and over again" that Congress "can take away the jurisdiction of the federal courts and can do so in a way that affects pending cases." Other justices, including Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, suggested that they believe Congress was acting properly.
If Patchak does win at the Supreme Court and is again allowed to proceed with his lawsuit, he faces a difficult fight against the casino, which is one of 26 in Michigan.
The casino has over 2,000 slot machines and 50 tables for games including craps, roulette and blackjack. A five-story parking lot is also being constructed, said tribe spokesman James Nye. In 2016, the tribe paid more than $17 million to the state and local governments as a result of its casino operation.
The case is Patchak v. Zinke, 16-498.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2hRsMTs
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|