Successful litigants under the Act can get up to 30 percent of the amount the government recovers as a bounty. If you know of some outright fraud in the fish and wildlife spending, give me a call. I'll be glad to help you try and collect the bounty. Of course, the courts would probably decide that the Act cannot be applied to the state fishery agencies and tribes that are at the root of the problem. The Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is supposed to prevent states from being sued in federal court, and the tribes are immune from suit.
Law breaks down when the lawbreakers are government agencies and officials.
50 Memo, R. Swatfigure to All Enforcement Officers, Feb. 19, 1997. Quoted in id. 55 J. Cone, A Common Fate 18. 58 J. Cone, A Common Fate 13. 60 W. Ebel, pers.