Source: https://www.animallaw.info/case/united-states-v-mckittrick
Timestamp: 2019-10-20 21:18:30
Document Index: 317096664

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1538', '§ 17', '§ 1538', '§ 17', '§ 3372', '§ 1538', '§ 1540', '§ 17', '§ 3372', '§ 17', '§ 17', '§ 1539', '§ 1539', '§ 17', '§ 1533', '§ 1533', '§ 17', '§ 1540', '§ 1540', '§ 1538', '§ 1539', '§ 1539', '§ 17', '§ 1539', '§ 1539']

United States v. McKittrick | Animal Legal & Historical Center
Full Case Name: United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Chad Kirch McKittrick, Defendant-Appellant
Country of Origin: United States Court Name: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Primary Citation: 142 F.3d 1170 (9th Cir. 1998) Date of Decision: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 Judge Name: SKOPIL, Senior Circuit Judge Jurisdiction Level: Federal Judges: Skopil Browning O'Scannlain Attorneys: Gilbert U. Burdett, James C. Kilbourne Docket Num: 97-30090
The government charged McKittrick with three counts: one, taking the wolf in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G), 1540(b)(1), and 50 C.F.R. § 17.84(i)(3); two, possessing the wolf in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G), 1540(b)(1), and 50 C.F.R. § 17.84(i)(5); and three, transporting the wolf in violation of the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2). [FN1] Magistrate Judge Anderson conducted a trial and then sentenced McKittrick to six months' imprisonment after a jury convicted him on all counts. District Judge Shanstrom affirmed the conviction and sentence.
FN1. Section 9 of the ESA, 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1)(G), makes it illegal to violate any regulations issued under the statute. Section 11(b), 16 U.S.C. § 1540(b)(1), provides criminal penalties for knowing violations of any such regulation. The applicable regulations, promulgated by FWS, are found in section 17.84(i), the special rules pertaining to the gray wolf experimental population. See 50 C.F.R. § 17.84(i). The Lacey Act makes it illegal "to transport ... any wildlife ... taken in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States." 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(1).
II. A. Validity of the Regulations
In enacting the Endangered Species Act, Congress recognized that individual species should not be viewed in isolation, but must be viewed in terms of their relationship to the ecosystem of which they form a constitutent [sic] element. Although the regulatory mechanisms of the Act focus on species that are formally listed as endangered or threatened, the purposes and policies of the Act are far broader than simply providing for the conservation of individual species or individual members of listed species. H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 97-835, at 30 (1982), reprinted in 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2860, 2871 (specifying that conservation plans may include unlisted as well as listed species).
Congress' specific purpose in enacting section 10(j) was to "give greater flexibility to the Secretary." H.R.Rep. No. 97-567, at 33 (1982), reprinted in 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2807, 2833. Thus, each experimental population has its own set of special rules so that the Secretary has more managerial discretion. Id. at 2834; see 50 C.F.R. § 17.80. This flexibility allows the Secretary to better conserve and recover endangered species.
The Supreme Court acknowledged the Secretary's broad authority when it upheld the regulatory definition of "harm" to include habitat modification, reiterating that "the broad purpose of the ESA supports the Secretary's decision to extend protection against activities that cause the precise harms Congress enacted the statute to avoid." Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon, 515 U.S. 687, 698, 115 S.Ct. 2407, 2413, 132 L.Ed.2d 597 (1995). Like the regulation at issue in Sweet Home, the agency's implementation of section 10(j) in creating the experimental wolf population effectuates the ESA's purpose and is within the Secretary's authority. FWS's designation of the experimental population was proper, and the wolf McKittrick shot fell within the ESA's protection. [FN2]
FN2. As the government points out, even if the experimental population were invalid, the wolf McKittrick shot would nevertheless be protected under the ESA by virtue of being a gray wolf in the coterminous United States. See 50 C.F.R. § 17.11(g).
We do not agree with the Wyoming District Court's analysis that section 10(j) must be read to apply to individual specimens as well as populations. The court based its reading on a House Report containing the word "individuals" once and "specimens" twice. H.R.Rep. No. 97-567, at 33 (1982), reprinted in 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2807, 2833. The quoted section of the report, however, uses the word "population" or "populations" sixteen times, id., and section 10(j) itself refers only to populations, [FN3] 16 U.S.C. § 1539(j). We must defer to FWS's reasonable interpretation of section 10(j), see Rainsong, 106 F.3d at 272, particularly where the interpretation involves agency expertise, see Mt. Graham Red Squirrel v. Espy, 986 F.2d 1568, 1571 (9th Cir.1993). FWS has interpreted the "wholly separate geographically" requirement only to apply to populations; this interpretation is reasonable and we decline to disturb it.
FN3. In fact, the only mention of "individuals" in section 10(j) suggests that they should be considered within the definition of "population," not given independent significance: "The Secretary may authorize the release ... of any population (including eggs, propagules, or individuals) of an endangered species...." 16 U.S.C. § 1539(j)(2)(A) (emphasis added).
The test for multiplicity--charging a single offense in more than one count--is whether each separately violated statutory provision "requires proof of an additional fact which the other does not." Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 304, 52 S.Ct. 180, 182, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932); see Wolfswinkel, 44 F.3d at 784-85. McKittrick violated subsection (3) of the regulations by killing the wolf; he violated subsection (5) by possessing it. 50 C.F.R. § 17.84(i)(3),(5). Each violation required proof of a separate element. Count I required proof of a taking by McKittrick, which Count II did not. [FN4] Count II required proof that McKittrick possessed the wolf, an element not required in Count I. The two counts were not multiplicitous. See United States v. Billie, 667 F.Supp. 1485, 1494 (S.D.Fla.1987) (concluding that separate counts for taking under 16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1)(B), and possessing, carrying, and transporting under § 1533(a)(1)(D) were not multiplicitous)
FN4. Possession of the wolf does require that the wolf be "taken in violation of the regulations," 50 C.F.R. § 17.84(i)(5), but there is no requirement that the person possessing the wolf be the one who took it.
McKittrick argues that a violation of ESA section 11 requires the government to prove that he knew he was shooting a wolf, and that the jury instructions misled the jury about the requisite intent. We review for an abuse of discretion whether the magistrate judge's "precise formulation" of the intent element was sufficient. United States v. Knapp, 120 F.3d 928, 930 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 968, 118 S.Ct. 417, 139 L.Ed.2d 319 (1997). Whether the instructions actually misstated an element of the crime is subject to de novo review. Id.
The instructions were accurate. McKittrick need not have known he was shooting a wolf to "knowingly violate[ ]" the regulations protecting the experimental population. 16 U.S.C. § 1540(b)(1). In 1978, Congress changed the wording of section 11 to "reduce[ ] the standard for criminal violations from 'willfully' to 'knowingly.' " H.R.Rep. No. 95- 1625, at 26 (1978), reprinted in 1978 U.S.C.C.A.N. 9453, 9476. It did this to "make[ ] criminal violations of the act a general rather than a specific intent crime." Id. As the magistrate judge recognized, the District of Montana had already decided the intent issue in the government's favor, holding on similar facts that "[t]he critical issue is whether the act was done knowingly, not whether the defendant recognized what he was shooting." United States v. St. Onge, 676 F.Supp. 1044, 1045 (D.Mont.1988); see also Billie, 667 F.Supp. at 1493 ("[T]he Government need prove only that the defendant acted with general intent when he shot the animal in question."). The Fifth Circuit has reached the same conclusion in related situations. See United States v. Nguyen, 916 F.2d 1016, 1017-18 (5th Cir.1990) (sustaining possession conviction did not require that defendant know animal's ESA-protected status); United States v. Ivey, 949 F.2d 759, 766 (5th Cir.1991) (citing St. Onge and Billie in holding that, like § 1540(b)(1), § 1538(c) is a general intent statute). The Eleventh Circuit has expressed its agreement with the reasoning of these cases in holding that an analogous provision of the African Elephant Conservation Act requires only general intent. See United States v. Grigsby, 111 F.3d 806, 817 (11th Cir.1997). As these cases and the legislative history indicate, section 11 requires only that McKittrick knew he was shooting an animal, and that the animal turned out to be a protected gray wolf.
McKittrick's second contention is that the instruction shifted the burden of proof from the government to him to prove the applicability or inapplicability of the exception. We disagree. Even if the government did have the burden to prove that the incidental take exception did not apply to the taking, which is not clear, [FN5] the instructions in no way suggest otherwise. Viewed as a whole, see United States v. Harrison, 34 F.3d 886, 889 (9th Cir.1994), the magistrate judge's instructions to the jury clearly placed the burden of proof on the government.
FN5. The ESA contains provisions, independent of the special rules found in the gray wolf regulations, that establish a permit procedure for incidental takings. See 16 U.S.C. § 1539. The Act places the burden of proving the applicability of such an exemption expressly on the person claiming its benefit. Id. § 1539(g). The regulations, however, are silent regarding burden of proof.
Any error in the instructions would be harmless, nonetheless, because McKittrick cannot qualify for the incidental take exception. He deliberately shot the wolf; he did not kill it unintentionally in the course of some other activity. The incidental take exception does not apply to "deliberate action." See Sweet Home, 515 U.S. at 700-01, 115 S.Ct. at 2414-15. Furthermore, the regulatory exception has two requirements--first, that the take be incidental; second, that it be "reported within 24 hours" to FWS. *1178 50 C.F.R. § 17.84(i)(3)(viii). McKittrick does not claim to have reported the taking, so he would not qualify for the exception even if his take had been incidental.
O'SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge, concurring: I concur. I write separately only to emphasize that I find recourse to legislative history and arguments from statutory "purpose," see Maj. Op. 3956- 61, unnecessary to the resolution of this appeal. McKittrick's contention that the Fish and Wildlife Service was not authorized to create an experimental population from an "unlisted" population (i.e., Canadian gray wolves) is, in my view, answered by the plain language of the Endangered Species Act:
The Secretary may authorize the release ... of any population ... of an endangered species or a threatened species outside the current range of such species if the Secretary determines that such release will further the conservation of such species. 16 U.S.C. § 1539(j)(2)(A) (emphasis added).
Boiled down to its essence, the statute provides that the Secretary may, upon making certain findings, authorize the release of "any population" of an "endangered species" or a "threatened species." The gray wolf is endangered and threatened as a species, even if the sub species that roams Canada is not. The statutory language refers to species, not subspecies. Consequently, in the end, the interpretive calculus is straightforward. Is the gray wolf an endangered or threatened species? Yes. Did the Secretary release "any population" of that species? Yes. Was the Secretary's action authorized by the plain language of § 1539(j)(2)(A)? It would certainly appear so.