[20-493] Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas

Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas

Wikipedia · Justia (with opinion) · Docket · oyez.org

Argued on Feb 22, 2022.
Decided on Jun 15, 2022.

Petitioner: Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, et al..
Respondent: State of Texas.

Advocates:

• Brant C. Martin (for the Petitioners)
• Anthony A. Yang (for the United States, as amicus curiae, supporting the Petitioners)
• Lanora C. Pettit (for the Respondent)

Facts of the case (from oyez.org)

Ysleta del Sur Pueblo is a federally recognized tribe with a reservation near El Paso, Texas. Under the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1987, the Pueblo agreed that its gaming activities would comply with Texas law. Another law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, also regulates tribal gaming operations. The Pueblo engaged in gaming activity that violated state law but not the IGRA, and Texas filed a lawsuit to enjoin the tribe’s gaming operations. The district court ruled in favor of the State of Texas, finding that the more restrictive Restoration Act controlled and prohibited the gaming operations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed.

Question

Which federal law governs the legality of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo’s gaming operations, the Restoration Act or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act?

Conclusion

The Ysleta del Sur and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act applies to the case at hand and bans on tribal lands only those gaming activities also banned in Texas. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the majority opinion of the Court

Section 107 of the Restoration Act directly addresses gaming on the lands of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, providing that “gaming activities which are prohibited by [Texas law] are hereby prohibited on the reservation and on lands of the tribe.” Activities that Texas law merely regulates and does not prohibit are outside the scope of the Act.

Chief Justice John Roberts authored a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh joined.