Appeals Panel Removes Judge Presiding Over Indian Lawsuit (NYT)

[Up2Late]

("Judge Lamberth had consistently sided with the Indians..." Oh, they couldn't have that!)

Appeals Panel Removes Judge Presiding Over Indian Lawsuit

By JOHN FILES
Published: July 12, 2006

WASHINGTON, July 11 — A federal appeals panel on Tuesday ordered the removal of the judge from a decade-long lawsuit involving trust accounts that the Interior Department administers for Indians. The panel found that the judge, Royce C. Lamberth of Federal District Court here, lacked objectivity and ordered the case reassigned.

“Reasonable observers must have confidence that judicial decisions flow from the impartial application of law to fact, not from a judge’s animosity toward a party — we conclude, reluctantly, that this is one of those rare cases in which reassignment is necessary,” the court said. “Our ruling today presents an opportunity for a fresh start....”

(clip)

...The trust dispute stems from a suit filed in 1996 by Elouise Cobell, a banker and a Blackfoot from Montana, on behalf of nearly 500,000 Indians who say the government has squandered more than $100 billion in grazing, energy and mineral royalties from Indian lands.

Judge Lamberth had consistently sided with the Indians, holding two former interior secretaries, Gale A. Norton and her predecessor in the Clinton administration, Bruce Babbitt, in contempt for failing to account for the money.

Judge Lamberth issued a ruling last July that called the Interior Department a dinosaur, adding that it was “the morally and culturally oblivious hand-me-down of a disgracefully racist and imperialist government that should have been buried a century ago.”

(more at link) <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/12/washington/12indian.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>

[harpboy_ak]

1. He should be pissed, Interior has done NOTHING

Congress gave them the money and order in 1994 to account for the missing funds; the judge ordered it long before then. The BIA's crats have been stalling it forever. Records under court order were destroyed. The defendants had attempted to evade the judge's orders numerous times, and he had lost all patience.

All of them are hiding the theft of Indian oil and minerals by major corporations, so Justice asks some ignorant appeals judges to remove the righteous judge, setting the long overdue case back years. It appears that a Congressional settlement will be the only way for the plaintiffs to recover *any* of the stolen money.

[KAZ]

2. Hmm, Silberman and Brown.

Now, where have I heard those names before?

[Up2Late]

4. Oh yeah, "...Judges...Janice Rogers Brown..." I remember her now!

...and David S. Tatel sounds familiar too, I'm having trouble remembering Laurence H. Silberman though.

"...The unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was made up of Judges Laurence H. Silberman, Janice Rogers Brown and David S. Tatel...."

I bet Google would remember.:think:

Oh, here's some info:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_H._Silberman>

"...On 6 February 2004, Silberman was appointed co-chair of the Iraq Intelligence Commission, an independent panel created to investigate U.S. intelligence surrounding the United States' 2003 invasion of Iraq and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction...."

Oh, and Source Watch has some good info on him too,

He's a "'...right-wing political activist' Judge"!!!

Here's more: <http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Laurence_Silberman>

"...On February 6, 2004, President George W. Bush named Judge Laurence Hirsh Silberman (Larry) as co-chairman to the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Silberman has been identified as "a long-time, right-wing political activist closely tied to the neo-conservative network that led the pro-war propaganda campaign...."

Nice impartial panel. :mad:

[KAZ]

7. Good job Googling!

The judge had a starring role in Conason's "Hunting of the President". A big "Elf" enabler.

[Rose Siding]

3. K&R

:grr:

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Interesting Mother Jones piece from last year ...

September 1, 2005
http://www.motherjones.com/news/featurex/2005/09/lamberth.html
<snip>
Recently, Lamberth has grown increasingly frustrated, even questioning the power of his own seat in the face of hostility from the government he made a career representing. In his most recent opinion he wrote, “Real justice for these Indians may still lie in the distant future; it may never come at all. This reality makes a statement about our society and our form of government that we should be unwilling to let stand.” For its part, the government is not content to have Lamberth on the ropes. Citing "legal errors and unconventional case management,” they’ve asked that the judge be removed from the case. The Justice Department commented that his ruling from July 12, 2005 "is unlike any other judicial opinion that we have ever seen." Whether or not Lamberth’s vehemence has finally caught up to him remains to be seen, but you can judge his words for yourself. What follows is a sampling of Judge Royce C. Lamberth at his blistering best.

<snip>

[Up2Late]

6. kick n/t

:kick: