Opinion ID: 692069
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Alabama Red-bellied Turtles Counts

Text: 14 The remaining four counts against Guthrie related to Alabama red-bellied turtles. These counts charged Guthrie with taking, possessing, selling, and transporting Alabama red-bellied turtles in violation of the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. Secs. 1538(a)(1)(B), 1538(a)(1)(D), and 1538(g); with soliciting others to do the same, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1538(g); and with conspiracy to engage with others in these actions, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371. Guthrie initially filed a motion to dismiss the counts, contending that the Alabama red-bellied turtle is not a pure species but a hybrid, and that the ESA does not protect hybrids. Guthrie then filed an additional motion to dismiss, supplementing with additional scientific publications his argument that the Alabama red-bellied turtle is not a species. Guthrie also filed two pretrial motions requesting that the district court authorize a DNA study to determine whether the Alabama red-bellied turtle is a hybrid or a pure species. In these motions, Guthrie offered to pay part of the costs of a study and to participate in the DNA testing, but he wanted to retain the right to author, publish, or co-publish the study's results. 15 The district court denied Guthrie's motion for the scientific study because the study would be too costly and because the court thought that Guthrie should not assist in its preparation. Initially, the court carried with/to trial the motions to dismiss based upon Guthrie's claim that the Alabama red-bellied turtle's listing was invalid, but in December of 1991 it expressly denied the motion to dismiss insofar as it related to the Alabama red-bellied turtle counts, holding that the Fish and Wildlife Service did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it promulgated the regulation. The district court also rejected Guthrie's offer to present new DNA evidence, because judicial review of the issue would have been limited to the agency record; the court noted that the evidence at issue was not even available at the time the Secretary of the Interior added Alabama red-bellied turtles to the endangered species list.