Appeals court won't hold back Lamberth on trust reform

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The byzantine struggle for justice continues.

The federal government has an obligation to fix the broken Indian trust and not just provide an historical accounting, an appeals court ruled on Friday.

In a 33-page decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered benefits to both sides in the Cobell v. Norton case. A three-judge panel freed the Bush administration from a lengthy and complex structural injunction that required the accounting to be completed by December 2008 and imposed dozens of requirements on the Interior Department.

At the same time, the court rejected the government's attempt to limit the scope of the class action, now its in seventh year of litigation. Attorneys for Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who will stay on the job for President Bush's second term, have repeatedly accused U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of exceeding his authority.

In September 2003, Lamberth issued a 270-page opinion that was divided into two sections. The "historical accounting" dealt with Interior's plan to account for at least $13 billion in Indian funds and the "fixing the system" part covered reform of the broken trust.

indianz.com