Critics accuse Attorney General Bill Pryor of sluggish actions and of harboring an ambiguous stance on video gambling arcades. After more than a year of frustration, law enforcement officials and district attorneys across the state question why he has waited until now to make a move.
Criticism intensified when Pryor surprised both opponents and proponents of the video gambling machines when he stated in a recent court document that in his opinion the current Chuck E. Cheese law allows video gambling devices to be legal. Pryor gave the statement as part of a civil law suit he filed challenging the legality of the Chuck E. Cheese law.
Law enforcement officials in Jefferson County say they are frustrated by Pryor’s recent admissions statement because they now are having to sit by and watch dozens of video arcades that were shut down in Jefferson County a few months ago, reopen.
As one district attorney official said, “The attorney general should have taken action well over a year ago. It would have saved a number of counties a lot of time and money. There’s no telling how long it will take to get a ruling.”
Pryor defended his actions by claiming he waited until the “timing was right” to challenge the legality of the Chuck E. Cheese law. In June, he filed a civil law suit in Montgomery County challenging the constitutionality of the law.
His actions followed the April opinion of four Supreme Court justices who stated video gambling devices were unconstitutional under state law.
Some critics suggest the sluggish action on Pryor’s part is a result of an “embarrassing court history,” which they think contributes to the mixed messages he is sending.
The first case the attorney general’s office prosecuted after the Chuck E. Cheese law went into effect — Alabama vs. Ray and Ann’s Place — was lost in 1999. The attorney general’s office also lost the case in the Civil Court of Appeals.
Critics say the Montgomery County law enforcement officials’ inept work, combined with the failure of the attorney general’s office to retain a sophisticated expert witness, was the contributing factor in losing the case.
The attorney general’s office received stinging criticism for failing to win the case, and their defeat gave gambling proponent lawyers fodder for their cause.
Criticism of the attorney general’s office included a written chiding from the Civil Court of Appeals justices who stated in their opinion they had no choice but to agree with the lower court’s ruling.
Justice Monroe wrote, “The state did a lackadaisical job at best in attempting to show the machine were illegal gambling devices.”
Gambling attorney advocates quickly declared a victory for their cause following the Ray and Ann case and seized the opportunity to declare their clients’ businesses legitimate under Alabama state law. Since that time gambling proponents have repeatedly rhapsodized their triumph and have missed few opportunities to herald the fact their verdict was not overturned in the Montgomery Court of Civil Appeals.
Since losing the high profile case, many critics think the attorney general’s office has taken a “wait and see” attitude, accusing the attorney general of being slow in taking aggressive action to help shut down the 40,000 machines that began infiltrating the state in 1993.
It was not until the four Supreme Court justices issued their opinion that the attorney general’s office once again took a stand.
One of Pryor’s critics regarding his “lethargic action” is Baldwin County District Attorney David Whetstone who says action should have been taken sooner.
Whetstone said he questioned Pryor in the summer of 2000 about machine confiscation, but Pryor discouraged him from confiscating machines based on the premise it was a legislative issue and the law would have to be changed.
“He indicated to me that if I prosecuted a case and won, his office would not assist in the appeals process,” Whetstone said.
Pryor denied Whetstone’s accusations stating, “That’s ridiculous.”
“Machines are still whirling in Alabama while we wait for a Supreme Court decision. There’s no telling how long it will take for that to happen,” Whetstone concluded.
Share with others: