The Alabama Supreme Court denied the attorney general's request to take over the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling, giving the governor a boost toward his goal of shutting down illegal electronic gambling.
The Supreme Court ruled last Friday that Attorney General Troy King would not be allowed to take control of the bingo machines and $500,000 the task force seized from the White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County, ending the fight between King and Gov. Bob Riley for control of the task force, which had been ongoing for more than a year.
The attorney general is now forced to turn all bingo matters over to the governor.
The court sided with Riley on the basis of his power over the executive branch, which includes the attorney general. King gave his opinion on the decision in a press release.
"I am obviously disappointed with the decision," King said. "The court reversed its own past decisions and even the decisions of those who wrote the Constitution. The implications of the Court's decision reach far beyond the issue of bingo."
Riley also responded to the ruling in a press release following the hearing.
"The attorney general's effort to hijack the task force was an illegal power grab designed to protect the casino bosses," Riley said. "In light of this ruling, the days of protection from law enforcement are over."
King was Riley's choice for attorney general in 2004. Since early 2009, he has fought Riley for control of the Governor's Task Force.
Riley created the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling in December 2008 because he felt the attorney general and district attorneys were not strictly enforcing gambling laws. The task force would focus on shutting down all electronic gambling machines as well as their casinos.
In January, Riley appointed John Tyson Jr., district attorney for Mobile County, as the new commander of the task force. King immediately butted heads with Tyson, but failed in his attempt to have him removed as head of the task force in March.
Tyson's predecessor, David Barber, resigned from the task force after winning a jackpot at a Mississippi casino. He was caught gambling in Mississippi by a private investigator hired by the VictoryLand casino in Shorter, Ala.
The task force attempted to raid VictoryLand, but was stopped by a temporary restraining order. VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor then temporarily shut down the entertainment center to prevent future raids, but has since re-opened the casino.
Trinisha Miles, assistant district attorney for Greenville, cited law as the task force's right to search without a warrant:
"The Fourth Amendment gives officers the right to search the building without a warrant if it is in plain view."
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