ADVERTISEMENT Alaskan Tribe Urges 9th Circ. Not To Find Drill Suit Moot Law360 (July 28, 2021, 7:25 PM EDT) -- Environmental groups and an Alaskan tribe urged the Ninth Circuit Wednesday not to find their lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management moot, saying their challenge to a ConocoPhillips oil and gas exploration program is viable despite one circuit judge asking "what's the point" of the appeal when regulations are about to change. Early into his arguments in the remote hearing, Jeremy Lieb of Earthjustice was hit with questions from two of the three circuit judges about the potential mootness of the case, and the questions continued throughout his time before the panel.