Bolstered by a favorable court ruling, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas says the tribe will decide its next step within two weeks.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, May 14, 2005

BY KATIE MULVANEY
Journal Staff Writer

CHARLESTOWN -- Heartened by a federal appeals court ruling, the Narragansett tribal government yesterday began weighing the future of its smoke shop on South County Trail.

"Obviously we're going to do something. We just don't know what," Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas said yesterday. "We can reopen, certainly."

The state, meanwhile, considered its options.

"We will appeal," said Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, who called the court decision "ludicrous" in that it did nothing to more clearly define state-tribal relations.

"I think the tribe and the state both need that. If this was a boxing match, it would be a draw," he said.

The state will probably seek a review by the full appeals court, said Michael Healey, spokesman for the attorney general.

A three-judge panel from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the state violated the tribe's sovereign rights when it raided the shop and arrested tribal officials in July 2003. The decision said the state had the right to collect taxes on the tribe's cigarette sales to non-Indians, but that it must use other means of enforcement.

"It's quite clear we can sell our tax-free cigarettes to Native Americans," Thomas said. "The bottom line is the tribe has the right to open the shop in one fashion or another."

State police, executing a search warrant, raided the roadside shop July 14, 2003, two days after the Narragansetts began selling tax-free cigarettes over the objections of the state. Eight tribal members were arrested, including Thomas.

After the raid, the state and the tribe filed suits disputing the tribe's right to sell tax-free cigarettes on tribal land. Upholding a lower-court ruling, the appeals judges found that the state's cigarette tax fell on the consumer, not on the tribe as seller.

Thomas yesterday asked for the return of cigarettes and about $800 in cash seized in the raid. The criminal charges against tribal members should also be dropped, he said.

Lynch said it was "grossly premature" for such considerations. "That is more than a bit of posturing," he said.

When asked how the state would respond to the shop's reopening, Lynch said, "We'll address circumstances as they occur." He added that he expected the tribe would "respect what issues are not at issue."

The tribe will "extend common courtesy" to the state in keeping officials apprised of its plans as it sees fit, Thomas said.

"We've always reached out to the state in one way or another," Thomas said. The chief sachem said the tribe would decide how it would proceed "within the next week or two."

Thomas also sought an apology from the state for the raid, which erupted into a violent and widely publicized scuffle.

"The circumstances were unfortunate," Lynch said, "but there's no need for an apology."

Katie Mulvaney can be reached at kmulvane [at] projo.com or 277-7417.