Former Department of Justice official Neal Katyal from the 2011 video. Still image from Indianz.Com YouTube

The California Indian Law Association has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice to find out more information about a speech given by a top official at an Indian law conference.

in the April 8, 2011, speech, the acting solicitor general at DOJ offered an apology of sorts for the federal government's handling of two historic Indian law cases. Neal Katyal, who has since left the Obama administration, said attorneys made "mistakes" by advancing racially and culturally biased arguments in US v. Sandoval from 1913 and Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. US in 1955.

Indianz.Com SoundCloud: Neal Katyal Speech at 2011 Indian Law Conference

"Looking back over these 140 years, there are certainly cases in which the office should be proud of the role it has played in this area, but it is also important to remember that we in the SG's office have made mistakes," Katyal said via video delivered at the Federal Bar Association's Indian law conference in 2011.

Since both cases continue to be cited repeatedly in the courts, the California Indian Law Association submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to DOJ to find out more about the speech and how it was developed. But the lawsuit said the government has not been forthcoming.

"Such public confessions of error by the Solicitor General regarding prior Supreme Court proceedings—like those to the Supreme Court in pending proceedings—are of notable public interest regarding government ethics," the complaint, which was filed in the federal court in Washington, D.C., stated.

Indianz.Com YouTube: Neal Katyal Speech at Indian Law Conference

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Lawsuit Seeks Background on DOJ 'Apology' in Supreme Court Indian Cases (The National Law Journal 4/13)

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