Trump Appointee to Hear Stand Up For California v. Wilton Rancheria Suit Over Proposed Elk Grove Casino

Trevor McFadden during his Senate confirmation hearing. | 

December 27, 2017 |  

A recent appointee to the federal bench will conduct a long-awaited hearing in a lawsuit challenging the validity of a decision to place land in Elk Grove, California into federal trust for a proposed Indian Casino.

The lawsuit, which was filed by Indian casino and gaming watchdog group Stand Up For California (SUFC) seeks to vacate a decision made in the waning hours of the Obama administration that placed land in Elk Grove into trust for the proposed $400 million casino. SUFC contends the decision, which is instrumental in building the casino on a portion of land at the unfinished Outlet Collection at Elk Grove shopping center, was made in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and therefore should be vacated. 

The case, Stand Up For California v. U.S. Department of Interior, et al., and Wilton Rancheria civil action no. 1:17-cv-00058-TNM was filed in federal district court in Washington D.C. It has been assigned to Judge Trevor N. McFadden.

As one of the newest judges on the bench in the highly visible federal district in Washington D.C., McFadden is also a relatively young appointee. According to information in his questionnaire, McFadden is 39 and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006 where he served on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review.

Following law school, McFadden spent time at the U.S. Justice Dept, during the last years of the Bush administration followed by a stint at the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington D.C. During the early days of the Trump administration Acting principal deputy assistant attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice.

Trump nominated McFadden on June 7 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by an 84-10 vote on October 30. During his confirmation McFadden received a majority qualified-minority disqualified rating from the American Bar Association. 

According to information posted in the questionnaire, like the most recent appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, McFadden list membership in the Federalist Society. Based in Washington D. C., the conservative and libertarian Federalist Society seeks "reform of the current American legal system in accordance with a textualist or originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution."  

SUFC filed its arguments on December 4 while the government is expected to submit their response by January 5, 2018. The hearing before McFadden is scheduled for Tuesday, January 9.