Jean Luc Picard look-a-like cleared by judge for study

The legal battle pitted scientists against the US Government over an application of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). At the heart of the litigation is a skeleton discovered on the banks of a Washington River in 1996, which is estimated to be 9,300 years old. The government was going to return the body to Native Americans so that it could be buried.

Yesterday, a Federal Magistrate acted to allow scientists to study the remains of the Kinnewick Man. The discovery had excited many people, especially after a facial reconstruction was performed which resulted in an image that many claim resembles Patrick Stewart. The Tri-City Herald has been keeping a watchful eye upon the events surrounding Kinnewick Man, and has released the Judicial Opinion (pdf) which rejects the applicability of NAGPRA and allows the scientist to perform tests upon the remains.