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The historic Shingle Springs Indians, Heirs Motion to Unseal Federal Records in El Dorado County v. Gale Norton — Heirs Cite 1916 Federal Letter and Demand Transparency

 

Placerville, California — A motion has been filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California seeking to unseal judicial records in El Dorado County Board of Supervisors v. Gale A. Norton, Case No. CIV.S-02-1818 GEB KJM.

 

The motion, brought by Louie Lawrence Smith, III, a lineal descendant associated with the historic 1935 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) governing body of the Shingle Springs Rancheria, invokes both the common-law and First Amendment rights of public access, along with controlling Ninth Circuit precedent, including Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu and Center for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Group. It requests that the Court reassess the continued sealing of agreements and transcripts under the “compelling reasons” standard required by federal law.

 

Publicly available records reflect that an intervening tribal entity in the Gale Norton case was federally labeled the “Sacramento-Verona Band of Homeless Indians.” A 1916 federal letter on file with the Department of the Interior states that this group was not identified as a California Indian entity and directed that related census classification be corrected.

 

Despite that documented federal correspondence, the same Sacramento-Verona group later claimed identification as the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and intervened in the Gale Norton litigation. The motion asserts that serious questions remain regarding the scope of federal authority exercised in connection with that intervention.

 

Community members and descendants connected to the historic 1935 IRA governing body have long raised concerns regarding how federal administrative determinations reconciled documented IRA-era governance records, treaty history, and trust land records in El Dorado County with later federal recognition listings associated with the Sacramento-Verona designation.

 

The motion to unseal does not ask the Court to resolve those historical disputes. It seeks transparency.

 

“When federal authority is exercised in matters affecting tribal governance and trust lands, the public is entitled to understand what representations were made and what records were relied upon,” a representative associated with the filing stated. “Sealed records in cases involving federal statutory authority should withstand constitutional scrutiny.”

 

The filing further notes that a related Administrative Procedure Act action is currently pending in the Eastern District of California seeking judicial review of federal administrative determinations under the Indian Reorganization Act and the Snyder Act.

 

The motion asks the Court to:

 

• Identify all sealed docket entries in the Gale Norton case;

• Reassess continued sealing under the First Amendment and Ninth Circuit standards;

• Determine whether redaction, rather than wholesale sealing, is appropriate;

• Ensure that judicial records concerning federal authority remain subject to public oversight.

 

Settlement does not extinguish the public’s right of access to judicial records. The motion asserts that stipulated sealing cannot substitute for judicial findings supported by compelling reasons.

 

The matter is now pending before the Eastern District of California.

 

Link to Court Document Unseal Gale Norton

 

Link to BIA Solicitor Willam Wirtz Declaration describing how the Sacramento-Verona Band of Homeless Indians were never Federally Recognized under Title 25, part 83 and he omits the IRA. 

 

For additional information or to review filings, visit:
www.RealMiwokTribe.com