Westwoods – Appellees
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08-1194-cv (L) 08-1195-cv(CON) United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit STATE OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK STATE RACING AND WAGERING BOARD, AND NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, Plaintiffs-Appellees, TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON, Consolidated-Plaintiff-Appellee, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ADDED TO THIS ACTION AS AN INVOLUNTARY PLAINTIFF BY COURT ORDER DATED 12/22/03, Plaintiff, -v.- SHINNECOCK INDIAN NATION, LANCE A. GUMBS, RANDALL KING, KAREN HUNTER, AND FREDERICK C. BESS, SHINNECOCK TRIBE, Defendants-Appellants, CHARLES K. SMITH, II, JAMES W. ELEAZER, JR., FRED BESS, AND PHILIP D. BROWN, Defendants On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York BRIEF FOR STATE AND TOWN PLAINTIFFS-APPELLEES NIXON PEABODY LLP ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN MICHAEL S. COHEN, ESQ. Attorney General of the State of New York DAVID M. SCHRAVER, ESQ. Attorney for State Plaintiffs-Appellees DAVID H. TENNANT, ESQ. The Capitol Attorneys for Appellee Town of Albany, New York 12224-0341 Southampton 50 Jericho Quadrangle, Suite 300 BARBARA D. UNDERWOOD Jericho, New York 11753 Solicitor General (516) 832-7500 ANDREW D. BING Deputy Solicitor General Dated: January 21, 2011 DENISE A. HARTMAN Assistant Solicitor General (518) 473-6085 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ................................................................................v PRELIMINARY STATEMENT........................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF THE CASE ............................................................................ 3 Procedural History..................................................................................... 5 1. The Complaints...................................................................... 5 2. The Preliminary Injunction................................................... 8 3. Consolidation of the State and Town Actions and Joinder of the United States ............................................. 10 4. Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment.............................. 10 5. The Trial............................................................................... 12 a. Extinguishment of Aboriginal Title............................... 14 The Ogden Purchase........................................................ 15 The Topping Purchase..................................................... 17 The Nicolls Determination ............................................. 18 The 1676 Andros Patent ................................................. 22 The 1686 Dongan Patent ................................................ 25 Shinnecock Recognition of the Extinguishment of Their Aboriginal Rights to Westwoods .................. 28 b. The Tribe’s Acquiescence in State and Local Authority over Westwoods.......................................... 30 The Canoe Place Division of 1738 .................................. 31 The Creation of Shinnecock Leasehold Rights to Westwoods ................................................................... 32 Tribal Accession to Town Jurisdiction in the Twentieth Century..................................................... 33 c. Disruptive Impacts.......................................................... 35 Disruption of Local Governmental Interests ................ 37 Disruption of Traffic Patterns........................................ 40 Disruption of Community Character............................. 44 Disruption of Water Resources ...................................... 46 Disruption of Air Resources ........................................... 48 Disruption of Ecological Assets...................................... 49 6. District Court’s Decision After Trial................................... 51 i Table of Contents (contd’) PAGE SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ........................................................................... 56 STANDARD OF APPELLATE REVIEW ......................................................... 60 ARGUMENT POINT I THIS COURT HAS JURISDICTION OVER THIS CASE......................................................................... 61 A. This Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over the State’s and the Town’s Claims............................................ 62 1. The State’s complaint alleges a federal cause of action under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ....... 64 2. Plaintiffs’ right to relief necessarily depends on resolving substantial questions of federal law............ 66 3. The district court properly exercised supplemental jurisdiction over the Town’s claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a) ........................................................................ 68 B. This Appeal Is Not Moot...................................................... 72 POINT II SHERRILL BARS THE SHINNECOCK’S CLAIMS OF SOVEREIGNTY OVER WESTWOODS AND OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY FROM THIS LAWSUIT ................... 75 A. Sherrill Bars Shinnecock Sovereignty Over Westwoods... 77 B. Sherrill Also Precludes the Shinnecock from Invoking Sovereign Immunity From This Lawsuit ........................... 83 POINT III THE TRIBE’S ASSERTION OF IMMUNITY FROM SUIT IS MISPLACED FOR OTHER REASONS AS WELL....... 88 ii Table of Contents (cont’d) PAGE A. Sovereign Immunity Does Not Protect Tribal Officials From Suit for Injunctive Relief Under Ex Parte Young......................................................... 89 B. Defendants Waived the Defense of Sovereign Immunity When They Removed These Actions from State Supreme Court........................................................... 92 POINT IV THE DISTRICT COURT CORRECTLY FOUND THAT SHINNECOCK ABORIGINAL RIGHTS IN WESTWOODS WERE EXTINGUISHED DURING THE COLONIAL ERA....... 96 A. The Burden of Proof Regarding Extinguishment of Aboriginal Title is “Preponderance of the Evidence”......... 96 B. Five Unambiguous Colonial-Era Documents Confirm (i) the Ancient Shinnecock’s Conveyance, Cession, and Relinquishment of Its Interest in the Lands West of Canoe Place, Including Westwoods; and (ii) the British Crown’s Intent to Extinguish Permanently Any and All Shinnecock Aboriginal Rights in Those Lands ..... 98 1. The Shinnecocks Relinquished Their Rights To Westwoods in the Ogden and Topping Deeds ............... 98 2. The Nichols Determination Validated The Ogden and Topping Conveyances ............................... 100 3. The Andros and Dongan Patents Confirmed The Relinquishment of Aboriginal Rights ......................... 105 C. Through Their Subsequent Actions the Shinnecock Confirmed Their Understanding of the Meaning and Effect of the Five Colonial-Era Documents...................... 111 D. The Odgen and Topping Deeds Were Not Void Under the Law of Connecticut Colony......................................... 115 iii Table of Contents (contd’) PAGE E. The British Crown’s Extinguishment of Shinnecock Aboriginal Title to Westwoods Was Effective Whether or Not the Ogden and Topping Deeds Were Valid.......................................................................... 121 F. The Town’s Submission to the Court of Assizes in the Mid-1600s Pertains to Lands East of Canoe Place, and Does Not Estop the Town from Claiming Lands West of Canoe Place........................................................................ 124 POINT V WESTWOODS IS SUBJECT TO STATE AND LOCAL LAWS............................................................................................ 128 A. Westwoods Is Not “Indian Country” Within the Meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1151 ............................................. 129 B. Westwoods is Subject to State and Local Gaming Laws Because It Is Not Indian Lands Within the Meaning of the IGRA and No Tribal-State Gaming Compact Exists.................................................................. 134 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 139 iv TABLE OF AUTHORITIES CASES PAGE Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Okla v. Kansas, 862 F.2d 1415 (10th Cir. 1988)............................................................... 112 Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Slater, 528 U.S. 216 (2000).................................................................................. 73 Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas v. United States, No. 3-83, 2000 WL 1013532 (Fed. Cl. June 19, 2000)................... 97,115n Alaska v. Native Vill. of Venetie Tribal Gov’t, 522 U.S. 520 (1998)................................................................................ 130 Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999).................................................................................. 95 Anchor Oil Co. v. Gray, 256 U.S. 519 (1921).............................................................................. 120n Anderson v. City of Bessemer, 470 U.S. 564 (1985).................................................................................. 60 Bassett v. Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Ctr., Inc., 204F.3d 343 (2d Cir. 2000), on remand, 221 F. Supp. 2d 271 (D. Conn. 2002) ...................................................... 91 Beers v. Hotchkiss, 256 N.Y. 41 (1931).................................................................................. 31n Blackmer v. United States, 284 U.S. 421 (1932)................................................................................ 117 Blunk v. Arizona Dep’t of Transp., 177 F.3d 879 (9th Cir. 1999)............................................................ 130,133 Brendale v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakima Nation, 492 U.S. 408 (1989)...............................................................................