The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a trust law case involving the Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona.

The tribe filed a historical accounting lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The case is similar to the Cobell case and other tribal historical accounting cases.

A second lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to seek money damages for trust mismanagement. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said the tribe could pursue both cases because they seek different outcomes.

The Obama administration appealed and the high court agreed to take the case, US v. Tohono O'odham Nation, No. 09-846.

Supreme Court Order List:
ORDERS IN PENDING CASES (April 19, 2010)

Federal Circuit Decision:
Tohono O'odham Nation v US (March 16, 2009)

Related Stories:
Tribes working to keep cases away from Supreme Court (3/31)
Federal Circuit ruling in Tohono O'odham trust case (3/16)