ST. CROIX — In a long-awaited ruling nearly a decade in the making, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands on Friday upheld a five-year ban from Divi Carina Bay Casino imposed on Carol Burke by the Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission, dismissing her appeal and affirming that the sanction was lawful, supported by evidence, and not arbitrary or capricious.
Burke, a former senator who currently serves as chairwoman of the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands, was expelled from the casino on October 5, 2015 following multiple allegations of disruptive, abusive, and profane behavior toward casino staff and patrons.
The CCC finalized its decision on June 8, 2016, barring Burke from the casino for five years. Although the ban has since expired, Burke’s legal challenge continued for nearly nine years, with the court ultimately finding no grounds to reverse the CCC’s ruling.
In his order issued Friday, Judge Douglas Brady noted more than five years have passed since the appeal was filed and that the ban’s expiration arguably rendered the case moot.
Burke said she was “disappointed” with the court’s ruling, noting that she filed her appeal within months of her ban.
“It wasn’t my fault that the court took forever and a day to hear a legitimate appeal,” she said.
Despite the passage of time and the expiration of the five-year exclusion period, the court proceeded to rule on the merits of the case. In the end, the court found that the CCC had acted within its authority, based its decision on a thorough factual record, and imposed a reasonable and legally justified sanction recommended by an independent hearing officer.
“The CCC accepted the factual findings set out in detail in the IHO’s recommendations,” Brady’s order stated. “Appellant has presented nothing new on this appeal to permit a finding that those findings of fact of the CCC were clearly erroneous. Further, appellant has failed to show that the CCC’s five-year exclusion of Burke from the casino was contrary to or unsupported by law.”
The ban originated from a petition filed on January 4, 2016 by the Virgin Islands Department of Justice’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, seeking Burke’s permanent expulsion from the casino. Independent Hearing Officer J’Ada Finch-Sheen presided over a two-day hearing in January 2016, during which 31 witnesses and 23 exhibits were presented.
Burke was repeatedly accused of using vulgar and obscene language, harassing casino employees, disrupting games, and soliciting money from other patrons. According to testimony, her behavior led to economic losses for the casino, frequent interruptions of gaming operations, and the resignation of at least three casino dealers who said they could no longer endure the hostile environment.
The IHO determined that Burke’s behavior resulted in an economic burden for the casino and recommended a five-year exclusion — short of the permanent ban requested by the DGE. The CCC unanimously adopted that recommendation in March 2016 and memorialized it in a formal order dated June 8, 2016.
Burke appealed the CCC’s decision on May 2, 2016, arguing that the CCC acted outside its legal authority, imposed an excessive punishment, and violated her constitutional right to freedom of assembly. The court rejected all three claims.
Brady noted in his order that the applicable statute — Title 32, Section 423 of the VI Code — expressly permits casinos and the CCC to permanently exclude patrons for disorderly or disruptive behavior. The court held that a five-year exclusion fell well within those statutory bounds and did not violate public policy.
Addressing Burke’s First Amendment claim, the court ruled that the right to assembly does not extend to private property like a casino without the owner’s consent.
“Even assembly protected under the First Amendment may not be exercised on private property without the consent of the property owner,” the order stated.
Burke also referenced two prior complaints she had filed with the CCC, alleging harassment and discrimination by casino staff. However, the court found she had failed to adequately raise or support those claims in her appeal, noting that “a single sentence” in her brief referred to them without legal argument or citation.
“This court will not review any claim of error that is not supported by argument or citation to legal authority,” the order stated, effectively dismissing those issues as waived.
Although the ban has lapsed, Burke said she has not returned to the casino.
“I haven’t been in the casino,” she said. “I don’t want to be in the casino.”
