Saturday, October 18, 2008 12:44 AM EDT
Councilors won’t back off support for Larisa
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Town also sends purchase of land next to disputed 31 acres to referendum
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 Charlestown's Town Council won't back down in its effort to have a local lawyer argue before the Supreme Court. |
CHARLESTOWN — The Town Council reaffirmed its decision to back Indian Affairs Solicitor Joseph S. Larisa Jr. as its representative before the U.S. Supreme Court in a key Indian rights case next month, rejecting an appeal made last week by Gov. Donald Carcieri.
Emerging from an executive session meeting on Friday afternoon, the council said Larisa is the best person for the job, despite the governor’s hiring of former U.S. solicitor General Theodore B. Olson to argue the case.
“We had a discussion and we support Mr. Larisa,” Councilwoman Harriet A. Allen said after the discussion of Larisa’s role in Caricieri v. Kempthorne.
Not only is Larisa more knowledgeable about the complex issues involved than Olson, Allen said, but he will be sure to make an argument that is extremely important to the town — an interpretation of the 1978 state law which delineates the Narragansett Indian Tribe’s settlement lands in Charlestown.
The case also asks whether the federal Department of Interior may take land into trust on behalf of Indian tribes across the country that organized after 1934.
According to Allen and others, Olson has indicated that he is more interested in the national implications of the case.“Mr. Olson did not feel [the local issue] was the most important issue,” Town Solicitor Robert Craven said.
Another factor that convinced the council to continue its steadfast support of Larisa is the backing that Larisa has received in recent weeks from the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
“With no disrespect to the governor, the governor is not a lawyer. (Chief Justice) Frank Williams is a lawyer,” Craven said.
Williams, who lives in Richmond, has called Larisa one of the state’s finest appellate lawyers who could be counted on to do a convincing job before the Supreme Court on Nov 3.
“I think the council was impressed by his opinion,” Craven said.
Williams’s remarks angered the Narragansetts, who immediately called for an investigation into possible judicial bias by the chief justice.
The Kempthorne case involves an appeal by the state and town to a decision by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to take 31 acres in Charlestown into trust for the Narragansett Indian tribe. Trust land is free from state and local zoning laws, giving tribes freedom to do what they want with it.
Larisa, who attended the council’s closed session, said he is hoping that he and Olson will toss a coin soon to determine who will argue the case. Noting that this is the method by which similar disputes have been settled in the past, Larisa has asked the Supreme Court’s clerk to order the parties to draw lots, but as of yesterday, the court had not responded.
This week, Olson and Larisa both informed the court that they would be the one arguing the case next month.
“Until we have a coin toss, I’m in limbo,” he said.
In other business, the council voted to let residents decide whether or not to buy 81 acres of land, which abuts the Narragansetts’ disputed 31 acres. Developer Larry LeBlanc has offered to sell the undeveloped parcel to the town for $5.5 million, saying speculators have approached him in recent weeks offering to buy the land for as much as $20 million — if the Narragansetts prevail in the Kempthorne case.
Speaking through his attorney, William Landry, LeBlanc has said that he would prefer to sell the land to the town, since if it ever became the site of a casino development, he knows he would probably have to leave Charlestown.
Fearing that the property could some day be used by the Narragansetts for a casino, especially if the Kempthorne case doesn’t go the town’s way, the council voted 3-1 to hold a voter referendum on purchasing the site. That referendum would be held sometime after the next 90 days. The dissenting vote was cast by acting council President James M. Mageau, who said, “The town needs that property like it needs a hole in the head.’’
Not only can the town not afford to buy the property, or add more tax-exempt property to its tax rolls, Mageau said, he doesn’t believe that the site could ever legally become a casino.
“It’s shakedown, that’s all it is,” he said.
Emerging from an executive session meeting on Friday afternoon, the council said Larisa is the best person for the job, despite the governor’s hiring of former U.S. solicitor General Theodore B. Olson to argue the case.
“We had a discussion and we support Mr. Larisa,” Councilwoman Harriet A. Allen said after the discussion of Larisa’s role in Caricieri v. Kempthorne.
Not only is Larisa more knowledgeable about the complex issues involved than Olson, Allen said, but he will be sure to make an argument that is extremely important to the town — an interpretation of the 1978 state law which delineates the Narragansett Indian Tribe’s settlement lands in Charlestown.
The case also asks whether the federal Department of Interior may take land into trust on behalf of Indian tribes across the country that organized after 1934.
According to Allen and others, Olson has indicated that he is more interested in the national implications of the case.“Mr. Olson did not feel [the local issue] was the most important issue,” Town Solicitor Robert Craven said.
Another factor that convinced the council to continue its steadfast support of Larisa is the backing that Larisa has received in recent weeks from the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
“With no disrespect to the governor, the governor is not a lawyer. (Chief Justice) Frank Williams is a lawyer,” Craven said.
Williams, who lives in Richmond, has called Larisa one of the state’s finest appellate lawyers who could be counted on to do a convincing job before the Supreme Court on Nov 3.
“I think the council was impressed by his opinion,” Craven said.
Williams’s remarks angered the Narragansetts, who immediately called for an investigation into possible judicial bias by the chief justice.
The Kempthorne case involves an appeal by the state and town to a decision by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to take 31 acres in Charlestown into trust for the Narragansett Indian tribe. Trust land is free from state and local zoning laws, giving tribes freedom to do what they want with it.
Larisa, who attended the council’s closed session, said he is hoping that he and Olson will toss a coin soon to determine who will argue the case. Noting that this is the method by which similar disputes have been settled in the past, Larisa has asked the Supreme Court’s clerk to order the parties to draw lots, but as of yesterday, the court had not responded.
This week, Olson and Larisa both informed the court that they would be the one arguing the case next month.
“Until we have a coin toss, I’m in limbo,” he said.
In other business, the council voted to let residents decide whether or not to buy 81 acres of land, which abuts the Narragansetts’ disputed 31 acres. Developer Larry LeBlanc has offered to sell the undeveloped parcel to the town for $5.5 million, saying speculators have approached him in recent weeks offering to buy the land for as much as $20 million — if the Narragansetts prevail in the Kempthorne case.
Speaking through his attorney, William Landry, LeBlanc has said that he would prefer to sell the land to the town, since if it ever became the site of a casino development, he knows he would probably have to leave Charlestown.
Fearing that the property could some day be used by the Narragansetts for a casino, especially if the Kempthorne case doesn’t go the town’s way, the council voted 3-1 to hold a voter referendum on purchasing the site. That referendum would be held sometime after the next 90 days. The dissenting vote was cast by acting council President James M. Mageau, who said, “The town needs that property like it needs a hole in the head.’’
Not only can the town not afford to buy the property, or add more tax-exempt property to its tax rolls, Mageau said, he doesn’t believe that the site could ever legally become a casino.
“It’s shakedown, that’s all it is,” he said.
Coon Dog wrote on Oct 18, 2008 5:03 PM:
" I just love the hypocrisy!Picard voted to
fire Larisa, and the stink over this by CCA was monumental Now the Governor fires Larisa and there isn't a whhimper. I think that most every one has forgotten that Larisa has lost this case 3 times with the same old arguments each time. I believe that if we go with Larisa, we will not be giving our best shot. "
fire Larisa, and the stink over this by CCA was monumental Now the Governor fires Larisa and there isn't a whhimper. I think that most every one has forgotten that Larisa has lost this case 3 times with the same old arguments each time. I believe that if we go with Larisa, we will not be giving our best shot. "
Becky wrote on Oct 18, 2008 8:47 AM:
" Three cheers for Bruce Picard for finally getting out from under Mageau's control. Jim Mageau has tried to obstruct every move the Town has taken to protect itself from a casino. Without Picard's vote this latest move to protect the Town would have failed. Poor Bruce, Mageau is probably yelling at you right now. You might want to leave your phone off the hook! "
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