Opinion
07cv681 BB/LFG.
July 21, 2011
Zuni River Basin Adjudication Subproceeding 1 Zuni Indian Claims ORDER
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the State of New Mexico's Notice And Suggestion For Procedure For Appointment Of Special Master (Doc. No. 311, filed June 24, 2011).
The State of New Mexico requests that the Court "allow the parties to participate in a collective process [similar to the opportunity afforded to the parties in the Aamodt Adjudication] to identify, interview and make recommendations concerning Special Master candidates." (Notice at 1-3 (counsel for the United States concurring). The State also proposes that "the Court form a committee of parties to advertise, review applications, conduct interviews, draft a proposed Order of Reference, and recommend a candidate(s) to the Court." (Notice at 2).
The Court declines to appoint specific parties to a Special Master search committee. However, interested parties are free to form a committee to identify and recommend candidates and to submit a proposed order of reference to the Court. All recommendations, whether by a committee or individual parties or both, for Special Master and proposed orders of reference shall be filed by April 13, 2012.