A federal appeals court ruled that the state violated the sovereign rights of the Narragansett Indian tribe when state troopers raided a tax-free smoke shop set up by the tribe in July 2003.
In overturning a lower court’s ruling, the three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit wrote that the tribe’s “sovereign immunity” rights were violated when the police forcibly entered the shop, seized the cigarettes and arrested tribal officials. T
he appeals court did uphold the ruling that the tribe broke state law by selling tax-free cigarettes.
Originally written By: Katie Zezima
