Looks like the government might get to screw Native Americans again

Judge Royce Lamberth has been removed from trying the far-too-long ongoing suit by a number of Indian tribes against the Interior Department over its management of Indian trust funds. The suit touches on more than a century of alleged mismanagement.

The D.C. Appeals Court ordered the removal, claiming Lamberth had lost his objectivity. Why? In one ruling from the bench a year ago, he directly accused the government of being racist.

“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.

So, Interior will likely continue to stall, unless some National Parks-related action shows that new Secretary Dirk Kempthorne really has turned over a new leaf. (Don’t hold your breath too long.)

Here’s a little case background:

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.