Tuscaloosa USA Law enforcement officials will meet with the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's office soon to determine how to treat video poker and slot machines in the wake of a Jefferson County ruling that cleared the way for authorities there to shut them down.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Wayne Thorn ruled two weeks ago that arcade machines such as the ones found in adult video arcades are gambling devices. Within an hour of Thorn's ruling, Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Woodward announced he was assembling a task force to confiscate the machines.
Arcade owners filed suit to block the sheriff's department from enforcing the ruling, but on Friday, U.S. District Judge H. Dean Buttram ruled they had not proven that their constitutional rights had been violated.
Buttram did not rule on the constitutionality of state laws regulating gambling, and he said he lacked the power to decide the legality of video machines that pay out coupons or other prizes. "Such is purely a question of state law, and it is simply outside the province of this court to decide it," he said.
State law prohibits games of chance. Adult arcade owners operate video poker and video slot machines under a provision known as the "Chuck E. Cheese Law," named for the youth-oriented pizza parlor, which wanted to allow children to play games like skee-ball and receive prizes. The legislature passed a law accommodating the request, with some restrictions. The restrictions mandate that the games must be games of skill and pay off in coupons of $5 in value or less, redeemable for merchandise, not cash.
"Under the constitution of Alabama which has not been amended, casino gambling and lotteries are illegal unless there is a special amendment allowing it, which has not happened," District Attorney Tommy Smith said. "If the statute is constitutional, and I'm not conceding that, the machines in question have to be shown to fall within what it allows. It's actually pretty restrictive."
The ruling applies only to Jefferson County, but area law enforcement leaders and the district attorney's office will discuss how the ruling will affect video poker and slot machines in their own jurisdictions. Smith said prosecution would require case-by-case examination.
However, the path seems clear to take a more aggressive posture, said Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ted Sexton. "Anybody who's in the business should heed the warning and vacate after what took place [in] Jefferson County and Shelby County," he said.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Ken Swindle said he would welcome clarification by the DA's office into how the Jefferson County ruling would affect Tuscaloosa. "Right now the law is confusing," Swindle said. "Our position is that it is a game of chance, not a game of skill. But until now, we've only made cases where they pay off in cash."
Sexton said his department's posture has always been that payoffs in either cash or coupons were illegal. Whenever they've received complaints, the sheriff's office has told merchants that in their opinion, the machines constituted illegal gambling. "Most folks have chosen not to push the issue," Sexton said. "They pack up and leave."
Sexton said his department has not brought a case to the district attorney. Northport Police Chief Billy Galloway said his department's job has been more clear. The Northport City Council outlawed payoffs in both cash and coupons. "The city council passed an ordinance, so all I've had to do is enforce the ordinance," Galloway said.
Merchants with machines complied, and no more have come into Northport, he said. Tuscaloosa Police have used undercover officers to find illegal operations that deal in cash. "We confiscate their machines and the proceeds in the machines," Swindle said.
Their success record has been excellent, he said. "We've won every case we've tried," Swindle said. "We haven't had a case appealed or lost a case. "Sexton said deputies are now monitoring merchants who have operations paying off in coupons.
Other sheriffs say they've had little problem with the machines. Pickens County Sheriff David Abston said he knows of no video poker or slot machines in the county. In Fayette County, Sheriff Richard White said he's had no complaints about the machines. "I think we have a few scattered here and there," White said. "We've talked to the district attorney about it. We haven't really done anything with them."
In Greene County, Sheriff Johnny Isaac said he knew of one arrest by Eutaw City Police. His department monitors them but would only take action if they pay off in cash.
SOURCE: Story by Robery De Witt,
Tuscaloosa News.
