Oh Union Tribune with your story on Tribal Sovereignty, Indian Gaming and Indian Casinos (and the people who sue them). Like the woman who sued Barona because, allegedly, she was bitten by bedbugs while staying at the hotel. So she sued and waited for her big pay out, and waited, and waited and then heard back "hey lady, you can't sue us, or rather you can sue us but you're going to deal with our sovereign legal system! Mwah ha ha!"
According to the story, some people (lawyers mostly) feel the current system is unfair. Since tribes are given the right to set up their own legal system on reservation land, and since tribes often times are small and use their own tribal council or tribal judges in their judiciary dealings and since lawyers hate losing because then they don't get their percentage of the winnings or settlement, well, lets have lawyer Bonnie Kane explain it: “It's not fair,” said lawyer Bonnie Kane, who sued in state court when the Barona tribal court rejected a claim by Nellie Lawrence, 93, of San Carlos after she was knocked down by a man running in the tribe's casino.
Wait a minute, it's not fair? That's your big argument? Wait, Kane elaborates: But she says the process should have guarantees of fairness, as other courts do. Her biggest problem? That the Barona court is composed of the tribal council – to which casino operators also answer. Court hearings are led by a lawyer for the tribe.
Now, I'm not a lawyer. I'm especially not a lawyer for a lady who sued a big tribal casino because a random guy went running through and knocked her over and I don't know all the facts of the case but "guarantees of fairness?" Is that even real?
And while we're at it, why aren't we writing long articles about how unfair it is that we still have to get permission from the Federal and State Government to sue them too. We should be able to sue who ever we want to. It's only fair.
I'll be back, I'm off to file suit... against somebody... for something...
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