The Kennewick Man Case | Events

Post Opinion Events

The appeals process

The Court has granted permission for the new Joint Coaltion of Tribes to appeal the August 2002 opinion. The coation and the Department of Justice have filed notices of appeal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will set the briefing schedule. See Comments on the appeals process for details.

Study stalled

Although the Court has granted permission for the scientists to study, objections and legal manuevering threaten to delay their access to the skeleton. As directed by the Court, the scientists submitted their study plan to the Department of Justice, who forwarded the plan to the agencies (Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Interior) and the Joint Tribal Coalition. This plan is under review. [See the summary of the study plan.] If the agencies deny permission to any scientist on the study team or deny permission for any of the studies, the scientists may need to return to the Court for resolution. Such delays have been the pattern for the past six years.

The Joint Tribal Coalition has asked the Court to stay (delay) the plaintiff scientists' access to study the remains until the appeals process is completed. The government has supported this request. The plaintiffs have filed an objection to this motion and the tribes have filed their response. Judge Jelderks may reply to this motion at any time. See Communications with the Court for these motions.

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