Eicher v. Louisiana State Police, Riverboat Gaming Enforcement Division

In May 1990, Meredith Eicher (plaintiff) pleaded guilty to two federal felony charges relating to mail fraud, for which she received a monetary fine and was sentenced to five months of imprisonment and two years of probation. The following May, based on the same facts, Eicher pleaded guilty in state court to two forgery-related charges. On the state counts, Eicher was sentenced to one year of imprisonment, but the sentence was suspended, and she was placed on probation to run concurrently with the federal probation. In 1993, after all the conditions of Eicher’s sentences were fulfilled, her state convictions were set aside pursuant to Louisiana law. In August 1994, Eicher applied for a gaming-employee permit. Eicher fully disclosed the convictions. In September 1994, the Louisiana State Police interviewed Eicher in relation to her application. Following the interview process, Eicher signed a conditional-approval agreement that granted her a temporary work permit pending a personal-background investigation. After receiving the temporary permit, Eicher began working at the new Belle of Baton Rouge casino. Soon after Eicher began employment, however, the media criticized her employment in light of her convictions. In response to the negative media coverage, state troopers revoked Eicher’s temporary permit and informed her that her application for a permanent permit would be denied. Eicher appealed through the administrative-hearing process, and a hearing officer upheld the state troopers’ decision. Eicher appealed to the Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Commission (the commission) (defendant), and the decision was again upheld. Eicher challenged the commission’s decision in court, and the court ruled in her favor and ordered reinstatement of her permit. The commission appealed, arguing that Louisiana law allowed denial of gaming-license applications based on prior criminal convictions. In response, Eicher argued that a separate Louisiana statute prohibited the state from denying licenses in any trade or occupation on the basis of a prior conviction.