Ohio deer hunter faces $28,000 fine
11-18-2011, 06:23 AM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,925
yeah, i was tellin my ol' lady he was probably guilty, why would you plead no contest...rule 1, if yer not guilty, plead NOT EFFIN GUILTY!!!!
Unfortunately this mindset also led to what we have today in many areas concerning "grey areas" in the laws and it led to a lot of abuses of the laws on both sides of the fence.People would poach deer and do whatever they wanted and if caught would simply pay the fine and be on thier way.The DNR would write tickets based many times on absolutely no evidence and know they could get away with it simply cuz nobody ever fought it.
Probably 20 some years ago I watched them roll into a guys yard one day and ask to see the deer in his machine shed.There were several deer hanging {legally as party huntings allowed here} including one that to this day is the largest buck I have ever seen in this area.They had heard he killed it and basically ignored the other deer, never even looked at the tags on them.
The guy had killed the deer on his field and put his landowners tag on it.The DNR confiscated the deer and they told him it was because he didnt have the habitat on his ground to allow a buck to get to that size so it couldnt have come from his property.Honest to God that was all the reasoning they ever gave.
He took them out and showed them the gut pile and they told him that gut pile couldnt have come from that deer and left it for the coyotes.
First off, we are in NW Iowa, it is nothing but corn and bean fields as far as you can see with scattered groves and weed patches.Secondly during shotgun season with the party system deer drives are the norm, which means the deer are pretty much chased from one property to the next all season.That buck coulda came from miles away and wound up hiding in a fenceline on his property.
Last, if it was the wrong gut pile why wasnt it collected, why did they leave it to rot.They then proceeded to harrass the other members of the hunting party for weeks on end trying to get one of them to agree the deer had come from somewhere else.They showed up at peoples houses long after season was over trying to get them to be witnesses for the state.
Long story short every deer hunter that was ever sent to court at the time plead guilty, hell it was almost assumed they were guilty by the legal system around here.Even if the guy had shot the deer somewhere else and gutted it in his field they had no case proving it.
Based on only the testimony of one game warden and the size of the rack they fined him $1500 and took his license for a year.I was just a kid at the time but it definately opened my eyes to the fact that you could be prosecuted for something based on nothing but a game warden on a witch hunt.It took a long time for me to gain any respect for them after that.I know today that most of them do a good job, but I also know sometimes they can and do prosecute innocent people that will simply roll over and pay the fine cuz its easier.
11-18-2011, 07:35 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: central and east texas
Posts: 4,894
Might sound stupid but years back his lawyer would have been correct, it was simply cheaper and easier to plead guilty or no contest and pay a small fine than it was to miss work and pay a lawyer.
Unfortunately this mindset also led to what we have today in many areas concerning "grey areas" in the laws and it led to a lot of abuses of the laws on both sides of the fence.People would poach deer and do whatever they wanted and if caught would simply pay the fine and be on thier way.The DNR would write tickets based many times on absolutely no evidence and know they could get away with it simply cuz nobody ever fought it.
Probably 20 some years ago I watched them roll into a guys yard one day and ask to see the deer in his machine shed.There were several deer hanging {legally as party huntings allowed here} including one that to this day is the largest buck I have ever seen in this area.They had heard he killed it and basically ignored the other deer, never even looked at the tags on them.
The guy had killed the deer on his field and put his landowners tag on it.The DNR confiscated the deer and they told him it was because he didnt have the habitat on his ground to allow a buck to get to that size so it couldnt have come from his property.Honest to God that was all the reasoning they ever gave.
He took them out and showed them the gut pile and they told him that gut pile couldnt have come from that deer and left it for the coyotes.
First off, we are in NW Iowa, it is nothing but corn and bean fields as far as you can see with scattered groves and weed patches.Secondly during shotgun season with the party system deer drives are the norm, which means the deer are pretty much chased from one property to the next all season.That buck coulda came from miles away and wound up hiding in a fenceline on his property.
Last, if it was the wrong gut pile why wasnt it collected, why did they leave it to rot.They then proceeded to harrass the other members of the hunting party for weeks on end trying to get one of them to agree the deer had come from somewhere else.They showed up at peoples houses long after season was over trying to get them to be witnesses for the state.
Long story short every deer hunter that was ever sent to court at the time plead guilty, hell it was almost assumed they were guilty by the legal system around here.Even if the guy had shot the deer somewhere else and gutted it in his field they had no case proving it.
Based on only the testimony of one game warden and the size of the rack they fined him $1500 and took his license for a year.I was just a kid at the time but it definately opened my eyes to the fact that you could be prosecuted for something based on nothing but a game warden on a witch hunt.It took a long time for me to gain any respect for them after that.I know today that most of them do a good job, but I also know sometimes they can and do prosecute innocent people that will simply roll over and pay the fine cuz its easier.
Unfortunately this mindset also led to what we have today in many areas concerning "grey areas" in the laws and it led to a lot of abuses of the laws on both sides of the fence.People would poach deer and do whatever they wanted and if caught would simply pay the fine and be on thier way.The DNR would write tickets based many times on absolutely no evidence and know they could get away with it simply cuz nobody ever fought it.
Probably 20 some years ago I watched them roll into a guys yard one day and ask to see the deer in his machine shed.There were several deer hanging {legally as party huntings allowed here} including one that to this day is the largest buck I have ever seen in this area.They had heard he killed it and basically ignored the other deer, never even looked at the tags on them.
The guy had killed the deer on his field and put his landowners tag on it.The DNR confiscated the deer and they told him it was because he didnt have the habitat on his ground to allow a buck to get to that size so it couldnt have come from his property.Honest to God that was all the reasoning they ever gave.
He took them out and showed them the gut pile and they told him that gut pile couldnt have come from that deer and left it for the coyotes.
First off, we are in NW Iowa, it is nothing but corn and bean fields as far as you can see with scattered groves and weed patches.Secondly during shotgun season with the party system deer drives are the norm, which means the deer are pretty much chased from one property to the next all season.That buck coulda came from miles away and wound up hiding in a fenceline on his property.
Last, if it was the wrong gut pile why wasnt it collected, why did they leave it to rot.They then proceeded to harrass the other members of the hunting party for weeks on end trying to get one of them to agree the deer had come from somewhere else.They showed up at peoples houses long after season was over trying to get them to be witnesses for the state.
Long story short every deer hunter that was ever sent to court at the time plead guilty, hell it was almost assumed they were guilty by the legal system around here.Even if the guy had shot the deer somewhere else and gutted it in his field they had no case proving it.
Based on only the testimony of one game warden and the size of the rack they fined him $1500 and took his license for a year.I was just a kid at the time but it definately opened my eyes to the fact that you could be prosecuted for something based on nothing but a game warden on a witch hunt.It took a long time for me to gain any respect for them after that.I know today that most of them do a good job, but I also know sometimes they can and do prosecute innocent people that will simply roll over and pay the fine cuz its easier.
11-18-2011, 09:45 PM
#13
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 76
One thing that I just don't understand about this story.. I'm gonna assume that he knew this was railroad land. And that it is restricted from hunting and prolly trespassing. Why not ask permission to retrieve the deer from the land owners. Of course if I shot that giant I'm not sure I would be thinking straight either.. Again I'm assuming and I know what it does!
