State Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams and Governor Carcieri
have both called into question a pro-casino advertisement that ran this
week. “Williams and other justices raised concerns about the full-page color
ad by Harrah’s Entertainment and the Narragansett Indian Tribe, saying it
might be misconstrued as an official court communication or that the judges
took a position on the casino question. “When Governor Carcieri’s office was
asked about the ad, his spokesman went further calling it ‘blatantly false
advertising.’ “The ad, purchased in The Providence Sunday Journal, has a
large photo of the state’s main courthouse and in big bold letters says:
‘The Supreme Court Agrees: The People Have the Right to Vote.’ “However,
that’s not quite true. “The court declined last week to rule on the
constitutionality of a November ballot question asking voters to approve a
West Warwick casino. Sidestepping the issue, the court said Carcieri, who
brought forth the challenge, had no standing to do so.”