On March 1, 1996, Judge Conti, United States District Court, Northern
District of California granted the request of the Sacramento law firm of
Dickstein & Merin and allowed it to withdraw as counsel for defendants
Thomas Brown, Hason Johnson, and Herbert Geary. Noting that defendants
had had almost 3 month's notice to find another attorney, the court
ordered them to promptly find counsel, and to appear with counsel in court
on April 12, 1996.
The court granted the Tribe's request to set the matter for trial on
August 12, 1996.
NIGC Casino Audit
The 50 boxes of casino records turned over to the FBI pursuant to criminal
grand jury subpoena by the Executive Committee has now, with the Executive
Committee's consent, been turned over to the Interior Department's
Inspector General for a complete audit at the request of the National
Indian Gaming Commission.
Consensus Gaming Management
The Tribal Executive Committee is continuing to attempt to foster tribal
cooperation by promoting a new system of consensus gaming management,
giving all tribal members representation of their choice on a committee to
be formed as soon as possible. Each of the eight tribal families would
appoint its own representative to the committee by any method it chooses.
The committee would operate by consensus. The National Indian Gaming
Commission has agreed in principle to lift its closure order once such a
committee is functioning and public safety is assured.