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VietnameseGriffin: ‘I applaud today’s ruling, which sided with the State of Arkansas and the Arkansas Racing Commissioners on all issues’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement after the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ruled in the state’s favor in Cherokee Nation Businesses v. State of Arkansas, upholding the constitutionality of Amendment 104 of the Arkansas Constitution, which stopped the Cherokee-owned casino in Pope County:
“I applaud today’s ruling, which sided with the State of Arkansas and the Arkansas Racing Commissioners on all issues.
“Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC, Cherokee Nation Entertainment, LLC, and Jennifer McGill sued the State and the Arkansas Racing Commissioners after the passage of Amendment 104, claiming it violated several constitutional provisions—including the Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause, Contracts Clause, Takings Clause, and Bill of Attainder Clause. The Court correctly ruled against the plaintiffs on each issue.
“I am grateful for the excellent work of my Special Litigation Section, particularly Senior Assistant Attorney General Jordan Broyles, Senior Assistant Attorney General Ryan Hale, and Assistant Attorney General Laura Logan.”
To read a copy of the court’s order, click here.
To download a PDF of this release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.
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