The U.S. Court of Appeals has removed District Court Judge Royce
Lamberth from the Indian trust fund mismanagement case because, the
appeals court said, Judge Lamberth's decisions were too frequently
reversed by a higher court and he showed a lack of objectivity as a
result of his frustration with the Interior Department. The merits of
the individual Indians's case are not in dispute and a new judge will be
appointed to handle what is known as the Cobell case, after lead
plaintiff Elouise Cobell of the Blackfeet tribe.
The higher appellate court stated that the federal government's failure
to do its fiduciary duties to properly handle the Indians' money
resulted in "a serious injustice that has persisted for over a century
and cries out for redress." The higher court complained that "no remedy
is in sight" for redress from Interior. Thus, as it appoints a new
judge, the higher court is saying that the Individual Indian Money
account holders who brought the case have a "worthy cause."
FCNL thanks Judge Lamberth for his 10 years of indefatigable effort and
hopes the case will reach a swift, fair resolution. FCNL also urges
Congress to pass legislation this year to remedy more than a century of
injustice and fix the Indian trust fund scandal. Fortunately,
legislation in Congress (S. 1439 and H.R. 4322) to settle this case will
continue.
Judge Removed For Defending Indians, Frustration with Interior
Department
The Department of Interior insisted that a different judge be assigned
to the Cobell case arguing that Judge Lamberth went too far in an
opinion in July 2005 that charged the modern Interior Department with
racism and outright villainy. The higher court defended Judge
Lamberth's harsh language in that opinion as views of an experienced
judge in a contentious case lasting a decade who was ill disposed toward
Interior for having flagrantly and repeatedly breached its fiduciary
obligations. "Interior's deplorable record deserves condemnation in the
strongest terms," wrote the appeals court. The panel of judges on the
higher court did not fault Judge Lamberth for stating his fierce
indignation about government inaction and resistance to righting a
multi-billion dollar wrong created through its lack of record keeping
and far more.
Instead, the Court of Appeals removed Judge Lamberth because his
experience over the last ten years with the Interior department had
resulted in a perceived inability to be objective. Judge Lambert was
not accused of improprieties, personal economic gain, improper
communications with the media or others, partisan political bias, or
losing his temper in the courtroom and verbally condemning Interior
officials. To use a sports analogy from the final game of the 2006
World Cup tournament, this was not an angry headbutt or temper outburst
such as the one that got French soccer star Zidane thrown out of the
game for attacking Italy's Materazzi. Judge Lamberth wrote a 34 page
legal opinion which was laced with statements of indignation against
Interior as an agency that had mistreated American Indians. He wrote his
strong critique to justify his order that Interior must tell individual
Indian Money Account holders that their trust accounts had many errors
because of Interior failings. This can be compared to auto companies
having to tell buyers that their cars had flaws and must be recalled.
Judge Lamberth was not accused of political bias. Appointed by President
Ronald Reagan, he held officials from both the Clinton and Bush
administrations in contempt. Since many of Judge Lamberth's orders to
force Interior to take specific actions were overturned, the higher
court focused on those reversals in reassigning the case.
Judge Saw Big Picture
Over a period of years, Judge Lamberth has developed a reputation in
Indian county as someone who "heard" when American Indians asked for an
accounting of their own money held by the Department of Interior.
Lamberth became a symbol of hope to many dispirited Indian families. He
grasped how significant the case was and moved it forward. The Cobell
case became a landmark class action suit for Native Americans. Elouise
Cobell became a heroine in eyes of thousands for sticking up for her
people. She and Judge Lamberth have been "thorns in the sides" of
Interior, Justice, and Treasury officials.
Judge Lamberth's rulings on behalf of the 500,000 plaintiffs took money
and the time and attention of Interior administrators who had to fix
problems they should have handled scores of years ago. Eventually, as
money for trust fund reform began eating into the budget of other
important Indian programs, the case created concern in Indian Country.
Nevertheless, Indian advocates knew this was the one occasion offering
any chance that the federal government would repay what it owed to
Indian families.
FCNL Statement on the Removal of Judge Lamberth
Judge Lamberth listened to people long ignored. We at FCNL appreciate
his heartfelt passion and his plain-spokenness. It is hard to think of
another person who has risked so much professionally to stop egregious
conduct against American Indians continuing today and to encourage our
government to demonstrate that this is a new era of reconciliation where
it can be counted on by Native American people. Some see Lamberth as
injudicious and too harsh against current Interior officials; others,
including a former judge, view him as having integrity and being
courageous in ruling in favor of a people "stamped all over by the
federal government." FCNL is not second guessing the appellate court
which wrote a thoughtful decision. We did not agree with all of the
judge's orders and certainly, the tone of his rulings has sometimes
appeared less temperate than is usually heard from the bench. We are
thanking the judge for (1) engaging Interior in a search for justice
and, through his rulings, (2) raising the awareness of the public, the
media, and the Congress about the documentation of Interior's
negligence and the Indians's claims.
Next Step
FCNL urges the federal government to act ethically and promptly to
remedy what can be most charitably called "mismanagement mistakes." We
ask U.S. senators and representatives to fix the Indian trust fund
scandal this session of Congress. Bills have been introduced (S. 1439
and H.R. 5312).
Go to http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1972&issue_id=112 for
FCNL's statement on Judge Lamberth.
For additional information, go to
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/issue.php?issue_id=112
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0714/p02s01-usju.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/277602_trahant16.html
_______________________________________
Honor the Promises to Native Americans, http://www.fcnl.org/nativeam/
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________________________________________
Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795
fcnl@fcnl.org * http://www.fcnl.org
phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330
We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
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