Gov. Bob Riley and his Task Force on Illegal Gambling took one step forward April 17 in their case against White Hall’s electronic bingo gambling facility.
According to a press release from Riley’s office, the Alabama Supreme Court issued an order allowing the task force to “hold onto” more than 100 electronic bingo gambling machines and nearly $600,000 seized in a March raid at White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County.
Former Supreme Court Justice Mark Kennedy had originally ordered the task force to return the items, but task force officials asked that he recuse himself from the case “based upon his ties to gambling interests in the state.”
“Kennedy has worked in the past for the Poarch Creek Indian Tribe, which operates some similar machines at its casino in Atmore,” the release stated. “Kennedy also refused to disclose the existence of other current and past ties to Alabama gambling interests.”
Riley praised the court’s opinion that Kennedy’s order should be stayed while it considers the recusal issue and said the legal system depends on “impartial and unbiased judges deciding cases.”
“It is inconceivable that a judge with ties to gambling in the state would think he could act in an unbiased manner in this case, and I am glad that the Supreme Court has decided to examine that question,” Riley said in the press release. “There is no doubt that the machines seized during the raid are illegal slot machines. To require law enforcement to give back illegal machines to the parties breaking the law would have been a terrible miscarriage of justice. I salute the Supreme Court for righting this wrong.”
In an e-mail alert, Joe Godfrey, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), called the court’s decision “a great victory for those of us who are trying to get illegal gambling out of our state.”
“The White Hall case itself, if it can get to the Alabama Supreme Court, could eventually determine if electronic bingo machines are legal or illegal in Alabama,” he said. “ALCAP contends, along with Governor Riley, that the machines are the same as slot machines and are, therefore, illegal according to the Alabama Constitution. ALCAP and the faith community salute the Alabama Supreme Court for this ruling. We also commend Governor Riley and the [task force] for their persistence in attempting to rid our state of these illegal machines.”
Repeated calls to White Hall officials were not returned before press time.
For more information about the electronic bingo gambling issue in Alabama, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org.
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