NEW ORLEANS -- Branch Davidians and their families have appealed
the dismissal of their $675 million wrongful death lawsuit over the 1993
federal assault on the sect's Waco compound.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs accused U.S. District Judge Walter Smith of bias
against the Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh.
Koresh was among some 80 men, women and children killed after the Davidians'
complex burned to the ground April 19, 1993, after an armored federal assault.
The assault capped a 51-day siege that began with a raid by federal agents that
killed four agents and six Davidians.
Smith dismissed the lawsuit in 2000, agreeing with an advisory jury that
concluded the government was not responsible for the deaths.
In a 125-page brief filed Monday with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
New Orleans, the plaintiffs say Smith was involved in the initial raid from its
planning stages and he manipulated and excluded evidence.
Smith did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.