Begining dove hunting

[fabsroman]

Originally Posted by skeet

Well what the game warden can or can't prove is a moot point. If they really want to get ya for something..migratory birds is the place to do it.. When you go to Fed court you have to prove you are innocent.. Fabs being an attorney may make ya feel different...but it's the truth. Luckily I never received any kind of citation..Could I have...oh yeah...many times but I tried to stay legal as much as possible..especially when I was guiding waterfowl hunters...and dove shooters too. We had approx 20 farms we planted sunflowers on all of us being farmers etc knowing lots of others. When we had parties we got a game warden out to check us before..sometimes during..sometimes after we were done..... enjoying a cold one...watermelon canteloupe or soft drink.We had one field were the doves were literally as thick as blackbirds flying in those big droves.. Federal GWs checked us..I was done..I gave him my gun and some shells and told him to have fun. He did. Ate watermelon and canteloupes with us down under the shade trees..in about 15 minutes. Feller could shoot. He shot my 28 ga M-12

And there is the difference between you and I, I have been cited with hunting violtions 3 times. The first time, ironically, was my first week of law school and I skipped Crim Law class that day for opening day of dove hunting. We all got cited for hunting migratory birds over bait. It was in Howard County District Court and I just paid the fine because I had no clue was probation before judgment was and didn't feel like appearing in Court since the Game Warden had pics of the bait on the field. I wasn't too happy about that citation, but it is a strict liability offense (i.e., you do not have to have knowledge of the bait being on the ground to be found guilty). If I had known how the system works, I could have gone to Court and asked the Judge for probation before judgment. In a year or two, if I kept my nose clean, the probation would have come off my record and there would have been no evidence of the citation on my record. As it is, that is the only thing on my record.

I was also cited with discharging a shotgun within 150 yards of a dwelling by the Montgomery County Police Department. The guy really wanted to convict the 4 of us, but guess what, I was the one that went to Court with the pictures, maps, and measurements. I was the one that showed that there were actually 6 of us hunting and that the officer had no idea where each of us was specifically located on the field. I was the one that showed the officer merely "eyeballed" the measurements because the county actually didn't give him anything to measure the distance with. He admitted in Court that he eyeballed it.

I was also charged with having a loaded shotgun in a vehicle. Went to Court for that one and when I asked the game warden how she knew I had a loaded shotgun in the vehicle, she said it was because she didn't hear me "rack" a shell when I got out of the vehicle and I shot way too fast after I got out of the vehicle. She was surprised to find out that that day I was shooting an over/under, as other witnesses testified, and that I was pretty adept at loading my gun. She said I took 5 to 10 steps from the car before shooting the gun, which was way too quick for somebody to load a gun. I had witnesses testify that I shoot a lot and can pretty much load my gun with my eyes closed while walking. I testified to the same. At the end, the Judge said he could not believe that I or the witnesses would perjur ourselves over a $225 fine. He found me not guilty.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to who can prove what, and knowing how the system works.

Other than hunting doves over bait, I have never been guilty of anyting else, and as I said, I wish I had known to go to Court at that time in my life, plead guilty, and ask for probation before judgment. Water under the bridge since that was 15 years ago, but it still irks me to see it on my record.

In the end, being an attorney definitely makes me feel different about it because I know how the system works, but yes, you usually have to prove you a are innocent after the opposing side puts on enough evidence to meet all the elements of the crime. Once the prosecution proves all the elements of the crime, the defendant has to bring some doubt into play regarding those elements.