Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's attorney general lacked probable cause to seize electronic bingo machines at Greenetrack in Eutaw, and a warrant used to take the machines contained misleading information, a judge has ruled.
Special Greene County Circuit Judge Houston Brown on Wednesday ordered the state to return to Greenetrack the electronic bingo machines seized by law enforcement officers after an investigation by Attorney General Luther Strange's office.
Strange said he would ask Brown to delay implementation of his order, and said he would immediately appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court.
"We strongly disagree with the court's findings and characterizations of the state's actions," Strange said in a prepared statement.
The machines were seized on May 31 after Brown granted a search warrant when the attorney general's office alleged that the machines were "slot machines."
In his order, Brown accused the attorney general's office of "judge shopping" when it originally had him appointed by the state Administrative Office of Courts to be a special judge and did not go to Greene County's two judges, Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway and District Judge Lillie Jones-Osborne.
Greenetrack manager Luther Winn did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Greenetrack was once one of the South's more successful greyhound race tracks, drawing in large crowds after the track opened in the 1970s. It was once home to one of the nation's top winning greyhounds, the legendary Joe Dump. But the track hit hard times as casinos opened in Mississippi and surrounding states created lotteries. Eventually the greyhounds stopped running and Greenetrack was left with simulcasts of horse and dog races around the country. Dump is buried on what was once the track's finish line.
The track reopened with electronic bingo machines after voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing bingo in the county. Employment at the track grew to about 400, but just a skeletal staff remains after the most recent effort to close it. Racing simulcasts are the only remaining activity at the track, about 40 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa.
State Sen. Bobby Singleton, who represents Greene County, said he hopes the judge's ruling will allow Greenetrack to put people back to work.
"I think this is a lesson to the governor and the attorney general for them to stop using the resources of the state to shut down legitimate businesses," Singleton said.
Greenetrack was closed last year in a raid by former Gov. Bob Riley's anti-gambling task force. The casino later reopened using machines that track operators said complied with an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that defined bingo. Those were the machines seized in May.
Strange has said he considers electronic bingo games to be slot machines. But Brown said in his order that the amendment to the Alabama Constitution allowing bingo at Greenetrack does allow the games to be played on electronic machines. A witness for the attorney general at a hearing before Brown said the bingo games must be played on paper.
Special Greene County Circuit Judge Houston Brown on Wednesday ordered the state to return to Greenetrack the electronic bingo machines seized by law enforcement officers after an investigation by Attorney General Luther Strange's office.
Strange said he would ask Brown to delay implementation of his order, and said he would immediately appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court.
"We strongly disagree with the court's findings and characterizations of the state's actions," Strange said in a prepared statement.
The machines were seized on May 31 after Brown granted a search warrant when the attorney general's office alleged that the machines were "slot machines."
In his order, Brown accused the attorney general's office of "judge shopping" when it originally had him appointed by the state Administrative Office of Courts to be a special judge and did not go to Greene County's two judges, Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway and District Judge Lillie Jones-Osborne.
Greenetrack manager Luther Winn did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Greenetrack was once one of the South's more successful greyhound race tracks, drawing in large crowds after the track opened in the 1970s. It was once home to one of the nation's top winning greyhounds, the legendary Joe Dump. But the track hit hard times as casinos opened in Mississippi and surrounding states created lotteries. Eventually the greyhounds stopped running and Greenetrack was left with simulcasts of horse and dog races around the country. Dump is buried on what was once the track's finish line.
The track reopened with electronic bingo machines after voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing bingo in the county. Employment at the track grew to about 400, but just a skeletal staff remains after the most recent effort to close it. Racing simulcasts are the only remaining activity at the track, about 40 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa.
State Sen. Bobby Singleton, who represents Greene County, said he hopes the judge's ruling will allow Greenetrack to put people back to work.
"I think this is a lesson to the governor and the attorney general for them to stop using the resources of the state to shut down legitimate businesses," Singleton said.
Greenetrack was closed last year in a raid by former Gov. Bob Riley's anti-gambling task force. The casino later reopened using machines that track operators said complied with an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that defined bingo. Those were the machines seized in May.
Strange has said he considers electronic bingo games to be slot machines. But Brown said in his order that the amendment to the Alabama Constitution allowing bingo at Greenetrack does allow the games to be played on electronic machines. A witness for the attorney general at a hearing before Brown said the bingo games must be played on paper.
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