Judge demands appearance by Gale Norton

[rainbow4321]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INDIAN_MONEY?SITE=CODER&SECTION=POLITICS

A federal judge has given Interior Secretary Gale Norton an ultimatum: Either appear in his court or face the prospect that he'll rule against her on an accusation that she retaliated against American Indians suing her agency for lost royalties.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth gave Norton the choice in an order he issued late Monday. The judge has frequently battled with the Interior Department since a class-action suit was filed in 1996 on behalf of more than 300,000 Indians seeking an accounting of trust funds set up in their behalf more than a century ago.

The government has yet to account for mismanaged oil, gas, timber and grazing royalties from Indian-owned land.

Last October, Lamberth found Norton acted as if her department's Bureau of Indian Affairs had to end all contact with Indians about land sales and account statements to comply with an earlier order from him. Whether that included stopping payments to Indians is in dispute. "What is clear is that the secretary, in a fit of pique and perhaps anger ... simply retaliated against the Indian beneficiaries under the thin disguise of a preposterous and facially false `interpretation' of the court's order," he wrote.

[MADem]

1. I'm thinking she won't bother to testify...n/t

[davidwhite0570]

2. I agree whole heartedly.......

[Lexingtonian]

3. Oooh, perp walk alert!

The first one's the hardest one.

[MADem]

4. Naah, they'll just rule against Interior and order them to cough up

...no perp walk. It'll be over with the stroke of a pen. And we taxpayers pay the legal fees and court costs!

[Erika]

5. Norton = Watts

[SoCalDem]

6. Damn that "activist" judge.. Legislating from the bench

He just needs a 5,000 pound "rock of ages" in his courtroom, and a visit from Ralph Reed to straighten him out.

[NYC]

7. And Gale Norton should be sent to the rock pile.

Or would that be the rock pile of ages.

[rodeodance]

8. stall tactics were used for years!! -- Good for that judge

[xchrom]

9. ok -- now i can't get that hymn out of my head...

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. kick