As reported by: The Associated Press
A federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit Thursday challenging the governor's ability to block Indian tribes from acquiring a western Wisconsin dog track.

The decision by the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago was the latest ruling to go against three Chippewa tribes in their efforts to open a casino at the St. Croix Meadows Greyhound Racing Park in Hudson.

The Red Cliff, Lac Courte Oreilles and Mole Lake Chippewa bands created a partnership to buy the dog track located about 20 miles east of the Twin Cities.

The Interior Department gave federal approval for the tribes to acquire the land and make it a reservation, but former Gov. Scott McCallum vetoed the idea in 2001 because he opposed any expansion of gambling.

The tribes appealed after U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison rejected their lawsuit in April 2003. Crabb ruled federal Indian gaming law did nothing more than give "governors an opportunity to be heard on matters that affected the interests of their citizens."

The tribes contended that a provision of the law requiring governors to approve the acquisition of off-reservation land for gaming purposes gives the state's top executives too much power and is contrary to the federal government's trust responsibilities to the tribes.

But the appeals court said the provision does not transfer control of the execution of federal law to state governors, as the tribes argued. A governor could not, on his own, allow tribes to acquire land for a casino without approval from the Interior Department, the appeals court said.

"The tribes' concern is not so much the unconstrained discretion that Congress permitted the governors of the 50 states to exercise under (federal Indian gaming law), but that Congress had delegated any power to the governors at all," the appeals court said.