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Judgment won, but DUI driver shielded by tribal sovereignty
San Diego Union ^ | November 21, 2004 | Chet Barfield

Posted on 11/21/2004 8:38:42 AM PST by Ramonan

There wasn't any doubt who was at fault in the head-on crash that turned a high school football coach into a lifelong rehab patient.

The question is whether Randy Reid and his wife will ever get any of the $2.5 million judgment they won suing the guilty driver.

It's not that the defendant can't afford to pay. He has plenty of money as a member of an affluent East County gaming tribe. But that's what makes his funds hard to collect.

Keith X. Wright, 28, was high on cocaine when his Lexus slammed into Reid's pickup on state Route 94 near Jamacha Road in September 2001. He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, causing great bodily injury, and has been in prison since last year.

The Reids contend Wright continues to receive at least $9,000 a month in casino dividends from the Sycuan Indian band. But they can't garnish any of that money at the source because tribes are sovereign governments, not subject to jurisdiction of the county Superior Court.

"We cannot collect a dime," said Joan Reid, who left a marketing job to nurse her husband, 56, through trauma care, multiple surgeries and ongoing treatment.

"We've already leveraged everything we can," mortgaging the equity of their Spring Valley home to pay medical bills, she said. "Some days I'm just a blob of nothing. Some days I'm angry. And some days I'm teary, like today."

Although individual Indians don't have the sovereign status that tribal governments do, plaintiff attorneys say it can be extremely difficult to collect civil awards from tribal members who refuse to pay.

(Excerpt) Read more at signonsandiego.com ...


TOPICS: Local News; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: indiangaming
A side effect of Indian Casinos.
1 posted on 11/21/2004 8:38:43 AM PST by Ramonan
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To: Ramonan

This is something that has always been one-sided and stupid. Commit murder on the reservation, and the tribal counsel will determine whether they want the USA to provide the prision. Commit murder outside the reservation, and the Sherrif must petition the tribal counsel to release you for justice. In many cases (Dennis Banks for example) the Tribal counsel tells the USA to go pound sand. Then the Sherrif must either wait for the crimial to leave the reservation and catch him there, or hope that he is pulled over and apprehended somewhere else.

Meanwhile, the USA pours HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars into the reservations. Yep, the Tribal counsel has no problem with the dollars coming in. They just don't want to pay anything going OUT.

Ever been to a reservation? I grew up surrounded by them. Think of a 3rd world country, where alcoholism is rampant, accountability is an alien thought, and corruption is as common as Corn Flakes. For example, take a look in the fields of your average reservation and notice all the cars parked there. Do you know how they got there?

Wounded Knee, Pine Ridge reservations were nortorious for using fake ID's (and real ID's as well) and RENTING a car. The car as then stripped and gutted. One door was wedged open and the cars are used as weather shelters for pigs. Yep, hundreds of stolen RENTAL cars sitting in fields, housing pigs courtesty of HERTZ, Avis and others. Here's the kicker. The tribal counsels denied permission for these cars to be removed, and once a pig has lived in the car for a day or two no one wants the car back.

Go to a High School on a reservation and the pot, cocaine and alcohol aren't even hidden. The kids drink in front of the teachers, because the tribal counsel runs EVERYTHING.

Now ask yourself, have you ever come across a Native American medical doctor, engineer, dentist, lawyer or other professional? I've been an engineer for nearly 20 years and have never either met, or heard of a Native American engineer. Yet, desks in universities sit empty for every discipline for a Native American to fill the seat. If you are a Native American, there are no academic requirements to meet in order to get into law or medical school. It's automatic, because of your race. Yet, every year, decade after decade these seats remain empty.

Is it because the Native American's are inherently defective? I don't believe so, but because of the priviledged class they are given, they have no need to exert themselves to prosper. Their housing, education, food, clothing and utilities are paid for by the US taxpayer. They need do NOTHING but eat, drink and make merry. And for every hardship they may endure, rest assured they will blame the white man for everything that has ever gone wrong with their life.


2 posted on 11/21/2004 8:54:09 AM PST by Hodar (With Rights, comes Responsibilities. Don't assume one, without assuming the other.)
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To: Hodar

The reservation system is a failure. We need to annex it and invite the Natives to join the 21rst century.


3 posted on 11/21/2004 3:07:54 PM PST by mlmr (Rubbing it in Leftist faces since 1994)
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