SYRACUSE --
The last time the State Court of Appeals held a session in Syracuse was 1851. That was 64 years before the downtown courthouse was even open for business.
The State's highest court will occasionally break away from Albany to hear regionally based cases and give people a first hand look at how this level of the judicial system operates.
One case before them involved the 2008 raid on two Cayuga Nation convenience stores in Seneca and Cayuga counties. Prosecutors in those counties indicted members of the Cayuga's for not collecting sales tax and confiscated thousands of cigarettes.
The Cayuga's want the seven judge panel to rule they did nothing wrong. The Nation also claims it doesn't have to collect tax on sales to non-Indians.
David DeBruin, representing the Cayuga Nation said "Not just the Cayuga nation and its leaders, but every Indian tribe in this State, its leaders, every seller, every wholesaler selling on the reservation can all be indicted."
The justices could hear the protest across the street from the courthouse by Native Americans. A Court of Appeals ruling will set a precedent that could affect their sovereign rights.
Arthur Sugar-Montour of the Seneca Nation said "It's not about being tax exempt, we are non-taxable. We are not under the thumb of the State of New York."
Expect a decision on this volatile issue in about six weeks.
