State of Alabama v. $223,405.86 Kc Economic Development, LLC v. State of Alabama

Summary

The court reversed the dismissal of the State’s forfeiture petition and rendered judgment forfeiting the seized gambling machines, records, and currency to the State. It held that disparate enforcement alone did not establish an equal-protection violation, that the trial court improperly intruded into prosecutorial discretion, and that legislative or voter-intent evidence could not expand the plain meaning of the local constitutional amendment. The court further held that the seized electronic machines were not the traditional game of bingo authorized by the amendment. Justice Moore, concurring specially, would also have accepted a remand directing the trial court to follow controlling precedent, while Justice Shaw, concurring in the result, emphasized the constitutional and plain-meaning basis for the judgment.