No problem. You've already been a big help. Thanks again.

Wideone is right about the lawyer. In a lot of states, it's not the judge who really rules on things. It comes down to the lawyer and the DA. They get togehter talk about there golf game and stuff and then BS back and forth about how to come to terms. On the other hand, some areas they get thier panties in bind (no offense to women here) then they want to throw the book at them.

If your buddy has a back up bow, his first mistake was to give his bow he is using now. What if he didn't go into the house to give up his bow? Did he gain anything? He's not been found guilty so if I were him, I would be in the woods. Hunt Hunt hunt, as you said he could loose his privalage in Wi and have to go to a neighboring state to hunt next year.

I wish him good luck.

Baggin,
I would make sure your friend gets a lawyer, and have him/her use the regs book if possible. As many have stated here, you almost need to be a lawyer to read them half the time anyway. As wideone stated, look for a lawyer with some experience in game law cases, and it may help to do a little RESEARCH to see about any other cases in your county to see the outcome of them....I think they would be public records, and if not maybe his lawyer could get ahold of them. It may also help to know what kind of person the DA is.....i.e. is he/she a hunter, or is the judge that will be handling the case, so on so forth. Your friend is going to need every angle he can get to keep from losing his hunting privleges, and we already know it's going to cost him a lot of money.

In closing, I'd like for your friend's lawyer to hold one point in mind......it seems with the CWD and all the EAB units popping up....the DNR is looking to kill as many deer as possible.....fine the guy sure.....take away his privleges, and it's that many fewer deer killed that they seem to want to get rid of so bad. Off record....trying to keep the insurance companies happy (cough...PAYOFF...cough). hahahaha JMO Rattler

Tell him to call the DA and the CO who gave the ticket. Try to arrange a meeting with them. They may refuse. Explain his ignorance, beg for mercy, and promise to never let it happen again. Offer to serve some type of community service in return for leniency.

Do all this as soon as possible. The more the court machinery grinds on it the tougher it will be to salvage anything. The closer it gets to the court date the harder it is to find a time where all are willing and able to talk to some one they feel is just finally giving up and making a last ditch effort to save his own skin instead of just a dummy who ACCIDENTLY screwed up.

You don't need a lawyer to pursue any of these avenues I've listed.

Don't count on a sympathetic judge unless all else fails. Ignorance of the law will go nowhere if the DA and charging officer have it in for him. The judge doesn't have much choice on how he rules and will pretty much follow the advice of the DA or a negotiated agreement if there is one.

You have much better chance pleading for mercy from the DA well before any trial date is set. The DA will not normally negotiate unless the issueing officer is at least not belligerant in his charges. They will both want to make sure they are on the same page and the more coordinated and in agreement the defendant is learning or has learned his lesson the better off he will be.

My advice? Tell him to go to court , pay the fine and move on!

I'm not a lawyer , but I can tell you that if he uses the same excuses in court that he gave you , he's going to get the full penalty as he should.

First , he should know the laws! Being a hunter from Wisconsin myself I cant even imagine another hunter NOT knowing about the EAB units! Everyone has been moaning about them since spring and the first thing any hunter with a lick of common sense does is to look up the EAB units to see if it applys to them. Sorry , I dont buy your friends excuse!

And here's the kicker , you said he thought the rules in his area were the same as last year and years past , right?
Well , all zones that are EAB zones this year have been T-Zones for the past several years. During the October and December T-zone hunts you CANNOT shoot a buck in any of the T-Zones with ANY weapon. It's doe only!

This is not true. I already checked HERE. And thanks for your opinion on whether or not he knew the changes in the regulations. It helps immensely.

You better read the regs a little closer or you'll be in the same boat as your friend some day.

Page 26 of the regs..

FAQ's
If I shoot an antlerless deer within a EAB unit , during the October or December zone-t hunts , can I shoot a buck during this same season?

No
The October and December 4 day zone-t special hunts are antlerless only seasons.

Since they started the zone-t seasons they have always been antlerless only. A bowhunter can bowhunt during the zone-t season , but he/she must where blaze orange and can only harvest an antlerless deer if hunting in a zone-t area.
And as I said , all areas that are EAB units this year are areas that have been zone-t areas in the past.

Bowfanatic,
You can shoot buck in EAB CWD areas as long as you have your EAB tag or you shoot your doe first. They were registering buck all week around here. Most of which were shot with a rifle.
One new thing to note for those in WI. In the CWD areas where the DNR will be at registration stations they area taking the heads off of EVERY deer regardless if you want them to or not (last year you had an option). This includes trophy bucks. They will cut the horns off of it, but take the head. The only option you have is if you fill out a bunch of paperwork saying you are getting a head mount, in addition you must return the brain and brain stem to them within 60 days or you will have a $300 fine. My 17 year old cousin just went through this crap last weekend in Plain, WI it took him two hours to get the thing registered. Find a registration station without the DNR reps there and save yourself some trouble.

The area that he shot the deer in was NOT a T-zone or EAB in 2002, but it is this year. Your statement of "all zones that are EAB zones this year have been T-Zones for the past several years" is incorrect. I'm not going to point out the specific area, but according to the maps for 2002 and 2004, you are wrong.