As the casino group files a lawsuit, Issue 2 is permitted to go into force in Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas – A U.S. judge decided that the requested temporary restraining order (TRO) against Issue 2 would be “reluctantly denied” and that a new hearing would be held, meaning that the conflict between the Pope County casino license holders and the state of Arkansas is far from ended.

Four and a half hours after the hearing started, United States District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. issued the decision. According to Judge Marshall, “the motion for a TRO is reluctantly denied.”
Jennifer McGill, a registered voter in Pope County, Cherokee Nation Entertainment LLC, and Cherokee Nation Businesses LLC were named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state on Friday.

We learned that the Arkansas Racing Commission, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Racing Commission members were added as defendants in the case before to Tuesday’s hearing.
Marshall said after the court on Tuesday that Gov. Sanders and the individual members of the racing commission will stay in the case, while the State of Arkansas and the Board of Arkansas Racing Commission were removed.

According to the case, “the amendment violates the constitutional rights of plaintiffs” and “plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm if the amendment goes into effect”; therefore, a federal judge is being asked to rule that Issue 2 is unconstitutional and prevent the amendment from happening.

Scott P. Richardson, the plaintiff’s lawyer, spoke at the hearing on Tuesday. Judge Marshall was presented with a number of issues, such as ballot questions and the claim that the “method was so confusing for voters to understand.”

Ryan Hale, the State of Arkansas’s representative, refuted a number of Richardson’s arguments, arguing that voters had already determined Issue 2’s standing.

Richardson presented a number of arguments during the hearing on Tuesday, claiming that the group had already been granted a license, that millions of dollars had already been spent, and that they were the “sole qualified applicant.”

He added that “the passage of Issue 2 not only impairs but destroys all contractual relationships.”

“Future tense language” and “so confusing, voters did not know what they were voting on” were two further remarks Richardson made regarding the language of the amendment that was put to the electorate.

In response, Hale asserted that the casino license is a grant of privilege rather than property. Hale continued, “The people can decide, the electorate is free to pick the number of casinos they want whether four, 50 or 100.”

Judge Marshall stated during the hearing that he intended to bring other parties before him again to discuss the preliminary injunction and requested further information from the Cherokee groups.

A “shortened reply” from the state was needed by Friday, Nov. 22, and the Cherokee Nation Group has until Tuesday, Nov. 19 to submit an amended brief.
There is currently no set date for a future hearing.