The more responsible Native Americans left these hellholes the minute they could thumb a ride out and have never returned.
Kicking Wing says: ''Thank you, Joe Dirt. Now I sell the good stuff''.
Posted on 07/11/2006 6:28:23 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Federal Judge Royce Lamberth has long been known for speaking his mind — most notably in rulings siding with American Indians in their battle with the government over their trust funds. But Lamberth went a step too far, an appeals court said Tuesday, citing one particularly harsh decision last July in which he accused the government of racism.
In a rare move, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered Lamberth removed from the 10-year-old Indian trust case, saying he had lost his objectivity.
"We conclude, reluctantly, that this is one of those rare cases in which reassignment is necessary," the judges wrote in a decision reversing two other Lamberth rulings.
When he lambasted the Interior Department in a decision last July, the government petitioned to remove him from the case, arguing he was too biased to continue.
The department, Lamberth wrote in the opinion, "is a dinosaur — the morally and culturally oblivious hand-me-down of a disgracefully racist and imperialist government that should have been buried a century ago."
Writing for the three-judge panel, Circuit Judge David Tatel said Lamberth was understandably frustrated. But the July decision — combined with eight rulings the court said were evidence of bias — went too far, Tatel wrote.
Lamberth did not immediately return a call to his office for comment.
Led by Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell, the plaintiffs claim the government has mismanaged oil, gas, timber and other royalties from their lands since 1887 costing them tens of billions of dollars.
Her lawsuit was filed in June 1996 and was assigned to Lamberth, a conservative Reagan appointee from Texas. Over the past decade, Lamberth has surprised many with his severe rulings accusing the government of malfeasance and incompetence in its dealings with Indians.
The case has bounced between the district and appeals courts. Lamberth has held interior secretaries Gale Norton and Bruce Babbitt in contempt and twice ordered the Interior Department to disconnect its computers.
Many of his decisions have been overturned by the appeals court, including the contempt charge against Norton.
Lawyers familiar with Lamberth say he is known for holding the government to a high standard, a principle he developed in the U.S. Attorney's office and later as a judge overseeing wiretap warrants for the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
But they also said he had become very invested in the Indians' case.
Tatel wrote that the appellate ruling "presents an opportunity for a fresh start" and urged both sides to work on a solution.
Interior officials said they look forward to moving on.
But Cobell said the plaintiffs will appeal part of the decision. She added: "With any new judge, we will continue to prevail."
Congress may ultimately decide the case, however. The plaintiffs have offered to settle, and are working with Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., to come up with an amount.
Joining Tatel in the ruling were Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown, appointed by President George W. Bush, and Senior Circuit Judge Laurence H. Silberman, appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Tatel was appointed by President Bill Clinton.
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On the Net:
Opinion: http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200607/05-5269a.pdf
The more responsible Native Americans left these hellholes the minute they could thumb a ride out and have never returned.
Kicking Wing says: ''Thank you, Joe Dirt. Now I sell the good stuff''.
Of course its about money. The woman who started the suit tried to get someone to explain how the accounting was done and the status of the accounts. No one, the federal government, would explain it to her so she filed suit.
If I ran a trust as badly as the government did here, I would be in jail.
"from the 10-year-old Indian trust case" so do they get a new judge and start all over?
Again, could you please link me to any information you have on the skimming of Indian royalties? You made the charge, I assume you have some evidence.
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