Owners of Whiteclay's four beer stores and the activists who want them closed have enlisted well-known attorneys in advance of a spring showdown at the state Capitol.
The stores will be asked to show in a formal hearing in April that the tiny, unincorporated village in northwest Nebraska has adequate law enforcement to support four businesses selling millions of cans of beer and malt liquor each year.
Much of that beer goes to residents of South Dakota's nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned.
Omaha lawyer Dave Domina, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2014, has signed up to represent five of the 13 people who filed formal protests when the stores applied to have their liquor licenses reissued last year.
The stores have hired attorneys Warren Arganbright of Valentine and Andrew Snyder of Scottsbluff.
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The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission ordered the beer stores to reapply for their state-issued licenses last year, citing concerns about law enforcement.
Whiteclay is 200 yards from Pine Ridge. Activists say beer sales in the village contribute to rampant alcoholism on the reservation and an epidemic of fetal alcohol syndrome, as well as vagrancy and violence in Whiteclay itself.Â
Domina called Whiteclay the "most deeply infected boil on the face of Nebraska."
"It needs to be lanced and dried up," he said.
The beer stores argue circumstances in Whiteclay haven't changed substantially since their licenses were first issued, in some cases, decades ago. They say shutting them down wouldn't fix the problems on Pine Ridge, and could even spread the issues elsewhere.
A two-day hearing on the licenses is set for April 6-7 in Room 1525 at the Capitol.
The format will be similar to a court hearing, said Hobie Rupe, executive director of the Liquor Commission. Only invited testimony will be allowed, although members of the public may observe.
The Liquor Commission will have a tight timeline to reach a decision: The licenses expire at the end of April.
Beer store opponents are fortunate to have Domina on their side, said John Maisch, an activist and former Oklahoma liquor regulator who produced a documentary about Whiteclay.
However, Maisch said, the "real heroes are those Sheridan County residents who were courageous enough" to protest the licenses.
Domina has followed Whiteclay issues since the early 2000s, and said the case raises fascinating legal and governance questions in addition to a compelling social story.
"I've routinely driven up there just to see what it looks like and what's going on," he said.
A separate effort to buy out and close the beer stores is still getting underway.
A group called Whiteclay Redo hopes to raise $6.3 million to fund the buyout and kickstart a larger redevelopment of Whiteclay. Its fundraising drive is set to launch March 5, said Bruce BonFleur, founder of Whiteclay's Lakota Hope Ministry and a member of the redevelopment group.
Maisch said the buyout is only being considered because of the ongoing Liquor Commission case.
"After reviewing the sheriff dispatch logs, it is clear that any large-scale commercial redevelopment will only occur if all the beer stores are closed down," he said.