Native American Press/Ojibwe News

Newspaper publisher files as intevenor in casino audit lawsuits

By Clara NiiSka - October 26, 2001
Press/ON publisher Bill Lawrence, acting as his own attorney, filed Friday as intervenor in the two casino audit lawsuits being heard in Ramsey County District Court: Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians, Plaintiff, v. State of Minnesota and Charlie Weaver as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and Prairie Island Indian Community v. Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Lawrence stated that he also intends to file as intervenor in the third casino audit lawsuit, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community, Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Indians, and Lower Sioux Indian Community v. Mike Hatch, Minnesota Attorney General, David F. Fisher, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Administration, and Charles R. Weaver, Jr., Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, which the tribal attorneys filed in Federal District Court in Minneapolis.

“Why are you doing this intervention?” this writer asked. Lawrence said, “I obviously would have preferred that the Star Tribune intervened—despite their hundreds of millions dollars of buyout debt remaining, they still have much deeper pockets than I do. But, they told me a week ago that they did not intend to intervene. I do not have any doubt that the Attorney General’s Office will do an outstanding job in representing the state’s interests in these cases, but there are other interests that need to be represented—not only those of the media, but also those of Indian people. As you know, we as Indian people do not have access to this information from our own tribal governments, even though right now we—as tribal co-owners of the Red Lake casino operations—are being spent blind by tribal council officials heedlessly sinking us ever-deeper into debt while refusing to disclose basic financial information.”

“In addition, knowing that these lawsuits can go on for a considerable length of time,” Lawrence continued, “I have some concern that the present Attorney General may seek other opportunities, and that his successor may not take the same interest in upholding public access to these documents.”

In response to longstanding concerns by readers of this newspaper, Press/ON requested copies of the casino audits under the Minnesota Data Practices Act. About 44 of these audits are held by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) pursuant to the State-Tribal gambling compacts. The Data Practices Act is a “sunshine law” which provides that almost all government records in the state of Minnesota are public information.

Months of legal wrangling followed Press/ON’s request: DPS refused to provide the audits, the state Department of Administration ruled that they were public information and that DPS was legally required to release them, then DPS Commissioner Charlie Weaver filed a formal application to reclassify the casino audits as nonpublic until the matter could be considered by the legislature. The Department of Administration approved Weaver’s request to reclassify the audits as nonpublic information, then, as required by state law, the matter went to the Attorney General for review. On September 14, the Attorney General’s office ruled that the reclassification request was “disapproved as to form and legality,” and that the audits are public information. Shortly thereafter, the five Indian tribes named as plaintiffs filed lawsuits in three separate legal actions, two in state court and one in federal court, seeking to prevent release of the casino audit information.

The tribal attorneys have already obtained temporary restraining orders enjoining the state from releasing the casino audits pending hearings to determine where the injunctions should become permanent, and the tribal attorneys have informed the courts that they intend to file Summary Judgment motions—meaning that the release of the casino audits will be barred without any further consideration (or redress other than through the Legislature).

The cases filed in the Ramsey County are scheduled to be heard in late November, and the federal case is scheduled for mid-December.