California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians facts for kids
Quick facts for kids California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians |
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| Argued December 9, 1986 Decided February 25, 1987 |
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| Full case name | California, et al. v. Cabazon band of Mission Indians, et al. |
| Citations | 480 U.S. 202 (more)
107 S. Ct. 1083; 94 L. Ed. 2d 244; 55 U.S.L.W. 4225
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| Prior history | 783 F.2d 900 (9th Cir. 1986) (affirmed and remanded) |
| Holding | |
| Indian reservations may not engage in a form of gaming when that form is illegal in the state; conversely, Indian reservations may engage in a form of gaming when that form is legal in the state. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | White, joined by Rehnquist, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by O'Connor, Scalia |
| Laws applied | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1151; 28 U.S.C.S. § 1162 | |
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Superseded by
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| Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988) | |
California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202 (1987), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the development of Native American gaming. The Supreme Court's decision effectively overturned the existing laws restricting gaming/gambling on U.S. Indian reservations.
Background
The Cabazon and Morongo Bands of Mission Indians are two small Cahuilla Indian tribes that occupy reservation lands near Palm Springs in Riverside County, California. During the mid-1980s, both the Cabazon and Morongo Bands each owned and operated on their reservation lands small bingo parlors. In addition, the Cabazon Band operated a card club for playing poker and other card games. Both the bingo parlors and the Cabazon card club were open to the public and frequented predominantly by non-Indians visiting the reservations. In 1986, California State officials sought to shut down the Cabazon and Morongo Band's games, arguing that the high-stakes bingo and poker games violated state regulations. The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court before a decision was rendered on February 25, 1987.
Effect on Native American gaming
Cabazon coincided with a period of rapid growth in the reservation gambling industry. What just years before had been a modest and relatively isolated phenomenon of reservation bingo and card games saw steady growth following the Supreme Court decision. Congress responded by passing the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988, which expanded the kinds of games that tribal casinos could offer, and provided a framework for regulating the industry.
