The death of a longtime U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals judge has left a high-stakes case involving a proposed Aquinnah Wampanoag gaming facility on the Island [of Martha’s Vineyard] in limbo, as both sides continue the protracted wait for answers from the bench.
The case, which was heard virtually before a three-judge federal appeals court panel in early September, is an appeal of a 2019 decision from a U.S. District Court judge that requires the tribe to obtain local building permits before construction can begin on the bingo hall.
But before the appellate court could issue a ruling, one of the three judges on the panel died at the age of 87. The death on Oct. 27 of Hon. Juan R. Torruella has focused attention on the court’s arcane internal procedures, which attorneys say are governed by long practice rather than published rules.
Meanwhile, activity has been frozen on the bingo hall construction site — located off State and Black Brook Roads on tribal land in the town — since late 2019.
