Judge orders Cobell accounting trial for October 10

Friday, April 20, 2007  

The federal judge overseeing the Cobell trust fund case has scheduled an October 10 historical accounting trial.

In a five-page order issued today, Judge James Robertson said it was time to move the case forward. He noted that it has been seven years since the Interior Department was ordered to account for the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust.

"More than seven years (and twenty-eight quarterly status reports) after Cobell V, it is both prudent and well within the supervisory powers of this court to review the accounting project in detail, and to do so in open court, where the government may present, and plaintiffs may test or challenge, the methodology and results of the accounting project up to the time of the hearing," Robertson wrote. Cobell V was the December 1999 decision that ordered the accounting.

Robertson said the trial will "continue as long as necessary." He envisioned a visit to Interior's Indian records repository in Lenexa, Kansas.

On a separate issue, Robertson awarded the plaintiffs $519,565.64 in "reasonable" fees.

Court Order:
Cobell v. Kempthorne (April 20,2007)

Settlement Letter:
Kempthorne-Gonzales to SCIA (March 1, 2007)

Relevant Documents:
Alberto Gonzales Testimony (March 1, 2005) | SCIA Views and Estimates (March 1, 2007)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm

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