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Alabama Supreme Court Rules In Favour Of Gov. Riley’s Task Force

Posted on May 22nd, 2010

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Gov. Bob Riley was granted legal victory by Alabama’s high court in its ruling on the governor’s fight against bingo halls in the state. The state Supreme Court Friday ruled that the governor had the authority to empower the state’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling and can continue to be in charge of it.

By that ruling, the high court as well rejected attempts by attorney General Troy King to seize control of the task force which has been conducting raids on bingo casinos all over the state. King, who was an appointee of Riley as attorney general in 2004, was opposed to the task force confiscating the electronic bingo machines to put a stop to the operation of those devices which are considered by the state as illegal slot machines.

The legal dispute started two years ago when the governor’s task force raided the White Hall Entertainment Centre in Lowndes County, seizing 100 machines and $500,000 in cash. King had accused Riley of exceeding the limits of his authority by dispatching armed law enforcement officers to the gaming halls without authority from the attorney general or local district attorney. King then made an announcement in March that he was taking control of the task force and the White Hall case and releasing John Tyson, who is also District Attorney of Mobile County, from his position as commander of the task force.

The governor and his task force appealed to the state Supreme Court a ruling handed down in March by Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Vance that gave Attorney General Troy King “direction and control” over moves to stop illegal gambling in the state. In his appeal, Riley had asked the state Supreme Court in March to grant him the authority to continue his legal campaign to halt the spread of bingo machines.

A year and a half ago, Riley formed the task force because he said the attorney general and the district attorneys in some counties were not doing anything to stop the proliferation of thousands of electronic bingo machines in casinos throughout the state. According to the governor, laws allowing bingo in some counties referred to paper games, not the machines, which to his opinion, are slot machines, which are illegal under Alabama gambling laws.

In its Friday ruling, the Supreme Court confirmed that the decision of at least three appellate courts that the term “bingo” stands for the traditional game that uses paper coincides with the governor’s own standpoint. Although the high court’s decision concerns the task force’s raid on the now locked-up White Hall Entertainment Centre, Riley said it will be applicable to other casinos in the state as well. The governor said in a statement that the ruling is a “clear, complete and total victory for the rule of law.” He said the state’s laws against illegal gambling can now be fully enforced all over Alabama.

Task Force Commander John Tyson said the team can now enforce the law on illegal gambling operations at the VictoryLand in Macon County, which has the largest number of electronic bingo machines in the state, in the Bessemer Cutoff of Jefferson, at Greenetrack in Greene County and all throughout the state of Alabama. He said the court’s decision was a “complete victory” for the governor and a “complete repudiation” of King’s attempts to take control of the task force.

An attorney for the White Hall casino operator said the high court’s ruling Friday goes against its earlier rulings on the authority of the attorney general. King’s spokesman, Chris Bence, said the attorney general is studying the ruling and will not yet make any comment.