Counties seek quick Oneida land ruling
Lawyers argued for more than an hour Tuesday over whether Madison and Oneida counties can foreclose on Oneida Indian Nation land.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made no decision, and has no deadline to issue one. The hearing was held in Manhattan.
Madison County Attorney John Campanie said the counties argued for a quick ruling before the three-judge panel.
“We tried to put forth that Madison and Oneida county taxpayers have waited too long and it’s important to have a resolution of this,” Campanie said.
One judge asked if the court should wait until the federal government rules on the nation’s request to put all of its land into federal trust. Nation lawyer Peter Carmen said after the hearing that would be a fair way to proceed.