Opinion ID: 2979776
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Indictment/Due Process Violation

Text: Bruce first argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment because the underlying state laws are vague and therefore violate his due process rights. The government says that the state laws are clear and provide notice of what conduct is prohibited. This court reviews the district court’s decision denying a motion to dismiss an indictment de novo. United States v. Plavcak, 411 F.3d 655, 659-60 (6th Cir. 2005). 4 Bruce does not dispute that the underlying state laws provide that no one may harvest mussels less than four inches in diameter. However, Bruce argues that as a consequence of events taking place after a mussel is taken from the water, a legally sized mussel may become illegal. Because of this, Bruce argues that the state laws do not provide fair notice. During the hearing on his motion to dismiss the indictment on these grounds, Bruce presented testimony from James Peach, who explained the mussel harvesting process in detail. The process begins when a mussel is removed from the water by a diver, like Bruce. A mussel is contained within a shell. The shell containing the mussel is passed though a metal ring, four inches in diameter. If the shell passes through the ring, it is too small and must be put back into the water. If the shell is larger than four inches, it may be removed from the water. After removal, the shell is placed on a truck for transport. Once the shells which contain the mussels arrive at the buyer’s location, they are weighed and steamed. During steaming, the mussels and shell are separated. According to Peach, the harvesting and transport processes could result in shells becoming dehydrated, brittle, and easily broken. Peach further explained that because of these processes, there could be a change in the size of shells from the time they are initially harvested, i.e. the shells may become smaller. One of the basic tenets of due process jurisprudence is that citizens are afforded fair notice of precisely what conduct is prohibited. United States v. Baker, 197 F.3d 211, 218-19 (6th Cir. 1999); Lambert v. California, 355 U.S. 225, 228 (1957). If a statute is “so technical or obscure that it threatens to ensnare individuals engaged in apparently innocent conduct,” notice will not be presumed. Baker, 197 F.3d at 219. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission Proclamation 99-6 and Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Regulation 220-2-.49 provide for the control of endangered, threatened, or in- 5 need of management mussel species and purport to restrict the number of waterways that are open to harvesting and the size and species of mussels that may be harvested. It is undisputed that mussels smaller than four inches cannot be harvested. Notably, Bruce does not argue that the text of the regulations are vague, nor does he take issue with the four-inch prohibition. Rather, his argument is based on events which take place during the processing of mussels, after they have been removed from the water. He says that the state laws violate due process because a mussel shell which is larger than four inches when legally removed from the water, may later become smaller because of processing. Under these circumstances, Bruce says the state laws do not provide fair notice of what conduct is prohibited at the time of harvesting. In this case, however, the shells were sized before they were processed. Trial testimony shows that the shells were sized while they were “green” and “fresh,” and the shells “hadn’t been cooked out yet.” A special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service testified that he did not “remember any [shells] being open.” Another agent testified that he “told [his] guys [to] make sure there’s a little daylight in between the ring [and the shell]. We don’t want to take any chances of an accidental legal shell getting into our illegal inventory. So those shells that were close . . . were disregarded.” The testimony at the pretrial hearing on the motion to dismiss confirms that agents processed the shells only “[a]fter they were measured,” and that the shells “were measured green.” Moreover, because the shells were still wet and green when they were measured, any natural deterioration and breakage would have been minimal. As applied to Bruce, then, the state laws provided fair notice that harvesting undersized mussels was prohibited conduct.