Thursday, Jun. 20, 2002

Kennewick Man decision to come by Labor Day

By the Herald staff

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks expects to issue a decision on the Kennewick Man case by Labor Day, he said in a short letter to lawyers made public Wednesday.

It's been one year since Jelderks heard final oral arguments in U.S. District Court in Portland on the case that pits the government and Northwest tribes against a group of scientists for the rights to study 9,000-year-old human remains found in Kennewick six years ago.

"The unusual delay in the case has in large part been due to the time required to review the entire record which, as you know, exceeded 20,000 pages," Jelderks said. "Careful analysis of the actual record was critical."