Two years wasted. If the ARC would have accepted that there weren’t going to be any other applicants with a support document from Pope County and followed their own rules, this could have been over long ago.

Instead, they decided to “wing it” with a 90-day application period that wasn’t in the Casino Gaming Rules… and got called on it.

On August 15, 2019 (two days after getting the Resolution of Support), CNB/Legends submitted an application that said in the cover letter:

“In order to comply with Rule 2.13.4(b), and to avoid any confusion in the future, CNB requests that the Racing Commission officially accept CNB’s application “for good cause shown.” We respectfully suggest that good cause is demonstrated by the fact that in the initial thirty day window no applications were submitted with a letter or resolution of support from the Pope County Judge or Quorum Court holding office at the time of the application as required by Amendment 100, Ark. Code Ann. § 23-117-101, and Arkansas Racing Commission Rule 2.13.5.(b). This application now comes to you with that resolution.”

My point on sharing this is that the Supreme Court said this in February. Tim Fox went ahead and ruled the same way as he had before.

It makes me think that he didn’t even read the opinion from the court. If he had, he would have seen that if his ruling was appealed, he would be overturned.
However, the first time around, his ruling wasn’t appealed by the ARC. Why would he think anything different the second time around?

Well, CNB wasn’t in a position to appeal the ruling on the first go-round. All they could appeal was his order that they couldn’t intervene… and they won.

That meant they could appeal on the second go-round… and they drug the ARC and the AG with them on the appeal… and they won.

They also said in the opinion: “According to the record, Cherokee is the only potential casino operator with the support of the sitting county judge and quorum court.”
_________
All of this has absolutely nothing to do with Pope County and old money and the churches. This is two out-of-state investors trying to bully their way into building a casino in Pope County. They could care less about old money and churches. They’d bulldoze their way right over all of that if it weren’t for silly things like rules, and lawsuits, and litigation.

The case that Gulfside and, now, Choctaw is gnawing over is a challenge to whether or not Legends is qualified to be a casino operator under the Arkansas Casino Gaming Rules.

This is in Judge Tim Fox’s court.

He had ruled last year that CNB was not qualified to intervene in the original Gulfside vs. ARC case. In February, the Arkansas Supreme Court, in CV-20-211, said, “We conclude that Cherokee was entitled to intervention as a matter of right and therefore reverse and remand the circuit court’s decision.”

Then, of course, he ruled the same way, and on 11/12, the original case was reversed and dismissed by the Supreme Court in CV-21-289.

He’s already struck out twice over the Pope County casino.

Will he go for three?

11/30/21

• 60CV-21-1653, Gulfside vs, ARC
  
• Motion to intervene by Choctaw
  
• Petition to Join in Pending Appeal and for Reversal of Adjudication under the Administrative Procedures Act
• Choctaw Nation is seeking to join in this appeal to challenge the Arkansas Racing Commission’s decision regarding the qualification, or lack thereof, of Legends Casino and Resort, LLC under Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 100. They allege that they stand to lose $12,000,000 a year.
  

An open letter to the Pope County Quorum Court.

Honorable Pope County Justices of the Peace,

It’s amazing that our Quorum Court continues to pursue an ordinance that will be meaningless even if it is passed and signed.

Has anyone on the Court conferred with the office of the Secretary of State to determine if such an election as is considered by the ordinance is possible under Arkansas Law? ¹

Has the question been referred to the Arkansas Election Commission? ²

Besides the question of whether such an election can be held, the ordinance, as written, will be invalid because it is in conflict with Arkansas’ Constitution and state law. ³

It’s also invalid since the circumstances it envisions, “Casino Applicant(s) who are applying to the Arkansas Racing Commission… for a license to conduct Casino Gaming…” cannot happen as a license was awarded for a Casino in Pope County on November 12, 2021, and there can only be one. That application had been accepted on April 15, 2020, for “good cause shown.” The application process has been closed since July 21, 2020, and there will be no more applicants needing letters or resolutions of support.

Justice George is not totally accurate in his belief⁴ that “Amendment 100 is clear that before a casino license can be issued there must either be ‘… a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution from the county quorum court…’.  That requirement is connected to the application, not the license, as was shown when all five original applications were rejected by the Racing Commission for lack of any proper support document from the county.

The Constitution does assign the duty of providing a document of support to the County Judge and/or the Quorum Court.  The electorate is represented by the people that they have elected to those positions. ⁵

The Quorum Court is attempting to appropriate a duty⁶ that is assigned to the County Judge and the Court and, inappropriately, reassign that duty to the electorate.⁷ This is a constitutional responsibility of the county judge and quorum court that cannot be restricted by legislation or local ordinance. “The Arkansas Constitution is the preeminent law of the land. With regards to any conflict between the Constitution and state and local legislation, the Constitution prevails.” ⁸

The ordinance as written places a bar upon implementation of the duty assigned to the Judge and the Quorum Court.  It bars them from performing their constitutionally assigned duty until approved and authorized in an election.  One would assume that if the measure failed in the election, they would continue to be barred.  The ordinance as written is in conflict with the Arkansas Constitution.⁹

The ordinance, if it could be implemented, is an attempt by Pope County to regulate gambling in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated § 14-14-806(4).¹⁰

Earlier in the year, this ordinance was read three times, tabled three times, and eventually failed to pass or garner enough votes to be tabled a fourth time.  This time through the process, it has been read twice.

Since this measure is meaningless and invalid, I urge the Court to vote down this ordinance and put it to rest.

The ordinance is moot, unneeded, and futile. It’s embarrassing that it is even being considered.

The best decision, in my opinion, would be to withdraw this ordinance from consideration. Failing that, the ordinance should be voted down.  If passed, Judge Cross should veto it.

For those who have read this far and considered what I have to say, thank you.

Mike Goad

(I am not a lawyer and what I have written here is my layman’s understanding of conditions and circumstances, though my layman’s understanding is almost always correct.)

Endnotes:

1. In 2019, Judge Cross, JP Caleb Moore, attorney Clay McCall, and others explored ways to have a local vote on “this casino issue.” The Secretary of State’s office told them that since the duty for writing the documents “was already in the state constitution,” “we could not hold a vote on this issue…”
2. The State Election Commission agreed. “The same answer was given, that we could not hold a vote on this issue.”
3. “…no local legislation shall be enacted contrary to the Constitution or any general law of the State, and any general law shall have the effect of repealing any local legislation which is in conflict therewith.“—Arkansas Constitution Art. 5, § 1. Initiative and Referendum
4. Allen George, “Letter to the Editor,” The Courier, November 12, 2021
5. “The Arkansas Racing Commission shall require all casino applicants for a casino license in Pope County and Jefferson County to submit either a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution from the quorum court in the county where the proposed casino is to be located…”—Amendment 100.
   • No vote or permission from the electorate is included or envisioned in the amendment; adding such an additional qualification in an ordinance would be contrary to the Constitution.
6. “A majority of the registered voters of Pope County, Arkansas, voting in the election must approve and authorize the County Judge to issue any Letter(s) of Support for any Casino Applicant(s) before the County Judge issues any such Letter(s) of Support or substantially gives similar approval or support for any Casino Applicant(s).”—Ordinance currently under consideration by the Pope County Quorum Court.
7. “Amendment 100 specifies that the authority and discretion to issue letters or resolutions of support lie with the County Judge and the Quorum Court. Amendment 100 does not place that authority or discretion in the electorate of Pope County.”—Judge Pearson’s ruling on Ordinance 2018-O-42, which he found to be in direct conflict with Amendment 100.
8. Clay McCall, attorney for Pope County, August 13, 2019, Pope County Quorum Court meeting.
9. “Ordinance 18-O-42 adds a qualification that was intended to operate and/or has the effect of operating as a bar to the issuance of a letter or resolution of support by the offices charged with that duty: the County Judge and the Quorum Court… because it imposes an additional qualification not found in or authorized by Amendment 100, especially when such qualification could act as a complete bar, Ordinance 18-O-42 is unconstitutional and void.”—Judge Pearson.
   • The ordinance currently under consideration by the Pope County Quorum Court could likewise act as a complete bar to the constitutional duty assigned to the county judge and quorum court.
     
10. The ordinance is “unenforceable as an attempt by Pope County to regulate gambling in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated § 14-14-806(4).“—Judge Pearson in ruling on Ordinance 18-O-42
    • Each county quorum court in the State of Arkansas exercising local legislative authority is prohibited the exercise of the following powers…
      (4) The legislative power to regulate any form of gambling, lotteries, or gift enterprises

Our door prize from the February 2020 Legends/CNB community event at the Hughes Center

Legends bought the door prizes from LOCAL businesses!

in use today for the Arkansas—Missouri game.

(Arkansas won!)

In the case where Gulfside is questioning Legends’ qualifications to operate a casino, all parties have requested an extension to respond to motions made by the opposite side. The current deadline is apparently December 2 and they are asking for an extension to December 16.