Title: Contempt from Court: The Blistering Eloquence of Judge Royce C. Lamberth – Mother Jones
Headings: Contempt from Court: The Blistering Eloquence of Judge Royce C. Lamberth
Contempt from Court: The Blistering Eloquence of Judge Royce C. Lamberth
This Federal Court judge makes it clear what he thinks. And for the Indians of the Cobell case, he thinks justice delayed is justice denied.
Jonathan Stein
Memorandum Opinion, Contempt Trial, 2/22/99
Memorandum Opinion, 12/21/99
Court Order, 05/17/02
Memorandum Opinion, 09/17/02
Memorandum and Order, 03/11/03
Memorandum and Order, 04/28/03
Memorandum and Order, 05/21/03
Memorandum Opinion, 09/25/03
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Content: Since the case’s earliest days Lamberth has consistently sided with the plaintiffs and refused to hide his anger at Interior’s stall tactics, legal maneuvering, and denials of culpability. At times he chides and complains, at others he roars and thunders. He always appears driven by a deep empathy that makes him a true compassionate conservative. And one need not understand the details of Cobell v. Norton to find him entertaining. Recently, Lamberth has grown increasingly frustrated, even questioning the power of his own seat in the face of hostility from the government he made a career representing. In his most recent opinion he wrote, “Real justice for these Indians may still lie in the distant future; it may never come at all. This reality makes a statement about our society and our form of government that we should be unwilling to let stand.” For its part, the government is not content to have Lamberth on the ropes. Citing “legal errors and unconventional case management,” they’ve asked that the judge be removed from the case.