[JURIST] US Department of Justice attorneys asked a US District Court Monday to replace the judge presiding over an Indian trust class-action lawsuit filed in 1996. Class representatives in Corbell v. Norton [IndianTrust.com overview] are suing to force the federal government to account for billions of dollars belonging to approximately 500,000 American Indians and their heirs, and held in trust since the late 19th century. Attorneys filed the motion following a July 12 opinion [JURIST report] issued by US District Judge Royce Lamberth [official profile], alleging he made inappropriate "gratuitous references to murder, dispossession, and numerous incidents of cultural genocide" against Native Americans, and charging him with numerous "legal errors". In July, US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman Senator John McCain suggested that a settlement in the case [JURIST report] was likely to be reached soon. AP has more.