The United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied the Department of the Interior’s motion to dismiss Special Master Alan Balaran. Balaran was appointed by the court in February 1999 to oversee Interior’s compliance with court orders related to the eight-year-old Indian Trust Fund case, Cobell v. Norton. Judge Royce C. Lamberth found Interior’s motion to be “devoid of merit” and concluded that “the Special Master engaged in no untoward conduct and demonstrated no bias or partiality.” In addition, Judge Lamberth noted that Interior objected to the Special Master’s conduct only after he filed a report that was critical of the department, and that the Department of the Treasury, another defendant whose actions are overseen by Balaran, refused to join Interior in this motion. “The Court takes note of the trust reposed by Treasury in the Special Master’s impartiality as manifested by its refusal to collaborate in these proceedings,” wrote Judge Lamberth.
Interior’s motion was denied on the same day the court issued a preliminary injunction ordering Interior to disconnect most of its computer systems from the Internet due to grave security concerns. The injunction was the third issued by the court ordering Interior to disconnect its IT systems until trust fund data is no longer in jeopardy.
Please click the Indian Trust photo of Elouise Cobell and then continue ...
Please click the Indian Trust photo of Elouise Cobell and then continue ...