UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ELOUISE PEPION COBELL, et al., )
1
Plaintiffs, 1
1
\.' . 1 Case No. 1:96CV01285
1 (Judge Lamberth)
) GALE A. NORTON, Secretary of the
Interior, et al., 1
1
Defendants . 1
DEFENDANTS' REPLY IN FURTHER SUPPORT
OF MOTION AND SUPPORTING MEMORANDUM
TO STRIKE PLAINTIFFS' "NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL
INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' RENEWED REQUEST
FOR EMERGENCY STATUS CONFERENCE REGARDING THE SECURITY
OF ELECTRONIC TRUST RECORDS (FILED JANUARY 4,2005) AND CONTINUING
VIOLATION OF DECEMBER 17,2001 CONSENT ORDER"
AND TO REQUIRE RETURN OF PRIVILEGED DOCUMENT
In opposing Defendants' motion to strike Plaintiffs' filing of a privileged document, Plaintiffs
make a series of false assertions about the circumstances surrounding the memorandum and its
meaning, incorrectly construe the Court's rulings on attorney-client privilege, and - by their silence -
admit that they received the memorandum from an unauthorized source. As a result, the Court should
strike the filing and order Plaintiffs to return the privileged memorandum to Defendants.
DISCUSSION
First, Plaintiffs repeat their false claim, originally made in their Notice, that the memorandum
shows that Interior reconnected BIA systems to the Internet. Plaintiffs' Opposition at 2-5 (Feb. 18,
2005). Plaintiffs state that Defendants "do not even purport to contest this fact in their Motion to
Strike." Opposition at 2 . Yet, as Defendants pointed out in the Motion, the memorandum establishes
on its face that the "remote dial-up" does not involve Internet connectivity. Motion at 2-3.
Moreover, despite Plaintiffs' claim that "there is not a shred of evidence that Plaintiffs' Notice
constitutes 'false representations,"' Opposition at 3, the memorandum is unrebutted in concluding that
the dial-up to Lotus Notes docs not violate the Court's orders barring reconnection of BIA systems to
the Internet. Plaintiffs' Notice and Opposition arc evidence of nothing but Plaintiffs' uninformed
pronouncements about Internet connectivity. Thus, Defendants have no reason to offer or cite to
evidence other than the memorandum.
Second, Plaintiffs misconstrue the Court's opinions concerning attorney-client privilege and the
fiduciary exception to the privilege. See Opposition at 4-5. Plaintiffs argue that Interior sought advice
related to trust administration and therefore to fiduciary matters. Opposition at 4. To the contrary, as
the memorandum unequivocally reveals, Interior sought advice solely concerning whether the dial-up
connection would expose Interior to civil or criminal liability resulting from a potential violation of the
Court's orders. Such communications concern "non-fiduciary" matters and are therefore not subject to
the fiduciary exception as defined by this Court. Cobell v. Norton, 212 F.R.D. 24,31 (1I.D.C.
2002).'
Also contrary to PlaintifTs' contention, Defendants have met their "burden of demonstrating that
the document[] at issue solely concern[s] nonfiduciary matters." Cobell v. Norton, 212 F.R.D. 24, 30,
quoted in Opposition at 5 . The memorandum identifies who was involved in seeking and providing the
advice, the subject matter of the advice, and the legal issue examined. This information fulfills the
' While Interior Defendants respectfully disagree with the Court's formulation of the fiduciary
exception as first set forth in Cobell v. Norton, 212 F.R.D. at 26-32, even under that formulation, the
memorandum is privileged.
-L-
elements of attomey-client privilege, as recently restated by this Court. Memorandum Opinion at 36-
37 (Feb. 8, 2005). Specifically, the memorandum, together with the Motion and Defendants'
January 14, 2005, letter to Plaintiffs' counsel (Motion Exhibit 2) establish that Defendants have met
their burden: (1) that the Department of the Interior is the holder of the privilege and a client of the
Department of Justice; (2) the communication was made (a) to a Justice Department attorney who is a
member of the bar of this Court and (b) was acting as a lawyer in connection with this communication;
(3) the communication relates to facts related to the attorney (a) by her client, (b) without the
knowledge of individuals outside of Interior or the Justice Department, (c) 1.0 secure primarily an
opinion of law and/or assistance in a legal proceeding, (d) and not for the purpose of committing a
crime or tort; and (4) Defendants have (a) claimed the privilege and (b) not waived the privilege. See
Memorandum Opinion at 37 (quoting Alexander v. FBI, 193 F.R.D. 1,4 (D.D.C. 2000)). Thus, the
memorandum provides the evidence to support Defendants' claim of privilege.2
Finally, by their continued silence, Plaintiffs implicitly admit that they received the memorandum
from an unauthorized source. See Motion at 2 & n.2. Their improper acquisition and unjustified
publication of this privileged document requires that it be returned to Defendants and removed from
Plaintiffs' website.
Plaintiffs also attempt to reserve an argument by stating they possess "evidence that may
implicate the crime-fraud exception" to the attorney-client privilege. Opposition at 5 n.8. However,
Plaintiffs have already waived the right to make such an argument because they failed to seek in
camera review of the document before disclosing it. See United States v. Zolin, 491 U.S. 554, 572
(1989); United States v. Chen, 99 F.3d 1495, 1502 (9th Cir. 1996). Moreover, Plaintiffs would first
have been required to submit evidence - other than the memorandum itself - of crime or fraud before
the Court could agree to review the memorandum in camera. Zolin, 491 U.S. at 574-75.
-3 -
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants respectfully request that the Court issue an Order
striking Plaintiffs' Notice, directing Plaintiffs to remove all copies of the Notice from the Internet and any
other public media in which it may have been disclosed, and directing Plaintiffs to retui-n the subject
memorandum and all copies thereof to Defendants.
Dated: March 3, 2005
Respectfully submitted,
ROBERT D. McCALLUM, JR.
Associate Attorney General
PETER D. KEISLER
Assistant Attorney General
STUART E. SCHIFFE:R
UHFUSTOPHER KOHN
Director
D.C. Bar No. 212357
JOHN T. STEMPLEA'ICZ
Senior Trial Counsel
Commercial Litigation Branch
Civil Division
P.O. Box 875
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044-0875
(202) 514-7194
-4-
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that, on March 3,2005 the foregoing Defendants' Reply in Further
Support of Motion and Supporting Memorandum To Strike Plaintqfs' "Notice of Supplemental
Information in Support of Plaintiffs' Renewed Request For Emergency Status Conference
Regarding the Security of Electronic Trust Records (Filed January 4, 2005) and Continuing
Violation of December 17, 2001 Consent Order" and to Require Return of Privileged Document
was served by Electronic Case Filing, and on the following who is not registered for Electronic
Case Filing, by facsimile:
Earl Old Person (Pro se)
Blackfeet Tribe
P.O. Box 850
Browning, MT 59417
Fax (406) 338-7530
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Oppositions and Replies
1:96-cv-01285-RCL COBELL, et a1 v. NORTON, et a1
U.S. District Court
District of Columbia
Notice of Electronic Filing
The following transaction was received from Kohn, J. entered on 3/3/2005 at 5:08 PM EDT and filed on
3/3/2005
Case Name: COBELL, et a1 v. NORTON, et a1
Filer: ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS
Document N u m b e r : U
Case Number: 1 :96-~~-1285
Docket Text:
REPLY to opposition to motion re [2832] Defendants' Reply in Further Support of Motion and Supporting
Memorandum to Strike Plaintgs' "Notice of Supplemental Information in Support oJPlaintgs' Renewed
Request for Emergency Status Conference Regarding the Security of Electronic Trust Records (Filed January 4,
2005) and Continuing Violation of December 17, 2001 Consent Order" and to Require Return of Privileged
Document filed by ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS. (Kohn, J.)
The following document(s) are associated with this transaction:
Document descripti0n:Main Document
Original filename: J:\C-Financial\Cobell\Current Filing\OO-Reply-96cv 1285-03032005 .pdf
Electronic document Stamp:
[STAMP dcecfStamp_ID=973800458 [Date=3/3/2005] [FileNumber=690052-01 [
944ed375e7e23cf5ab 134286d7cbeea490ca9fl2eb50c622f4046ad6eOdafb 1 e468270
2fb5eOa33a82465c44179a350e64dcd85a7405beOf2ecf87cc4730bc9e]]
1:96-cv-1285 Notice will be electronically mailed to:
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Michael James Bearman mbearman@mckennalong.com,
David Booth Beers dbeers@sheagardner.com,
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WRIGHTSMAN MANSION
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