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Misdemeanor for Violation of Fish and Game Regulation

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  • 07-15-2011, 07:36 PM
    thephasdin4
    Misdemeanor for Violation of Fish and Game Regulation
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: INDIANA

    Long story short. The state of Indiana has a daily bag limit of 5 trout. However, I fatally missed the "daily" part. I went fishing in the morning, catching 1 fish and was given 4 more by an elderly gentleman. I went home. 8 Hours later my dad came home from work and invited me to fish with him. Of course I went. We each landed 5 trouts thinking we're well within the legal limits. Of course some undercover wardens were there the whole day and they noticed my reappearance. They seized 5 of the 10 fish we caught and wrote me a citation for "Exceeding the Daily Bag Limit for Trout" after some questioning. I was faced with 1.) cooperate and admit or 2.) don't cooperate and go to jail. Of course I took the latter option. According to the warden, this is a misdemeanor and he suggested that I plea guilty in my initial hearing which is scheduled in late August.

    So the questions are...
    1. is violation of fish and game regulation seriously a misdemeanor?
    2. is there a way for this to not go on my criminal record? (diversion program, dropping charges, etc?)
    3. Should I plea guilty and pay the fine or plea not guilty and wait for the officers to actually produce evidence to prove my guilt beyond reasonable doubts? (I have doubts as to the accuracy of their evidence: 1. they believed 2 fish were given to me instead of four 2. their information on the given fish were solely from "saying" of the elderly gentleman who said he gave a couple of fish away 3. they said they have photos of me catching my one fish but refused to show them to me when requested saying they will use them against me in court)
    4. Am I eligible for a copy of the wardens' report? I'm sure they have one just like a police report, but the guy never mentioned that I can pick them up.
    5. At the initial hearing, can I ask the judge for diversion or plea bargains before I make an official plea?
    6. What should I do????? I don't want this to go on record as I am a 21 years old college student with a whole life ahead of me (plus being in the military). On one hand I want this to be all over with quickly, but on the other hand, having this thing on record is not going to sit well with my future employments :( Please give me all you got. I didn't mean to break the law. My father has been fishing for 25 years and he said it would be fine (apparently not:()

    Thank you!!!!!
  • 07-15-2011, 08:32 PM
    cyjeff
    Re: Misdemeanor for Violation of Fish and Game Regulation
    On the citation you were given, what is the statute number of the charge?
  • 07-15-2011, 09:02 PM
    aardvarc
    Re: Misdemeanor for Violation of Fish and Game Regulation
    Quote:

    Quoting thephasdin4
    View Post

    1. is violation of fish and game regulation seriously a misdemeanor?

    Some DNR violations are infractions, some are misdemeanors. For the violation in question, yes, it is - see Indiana Code, 312 IAC 9-7-13, "Trout and salmon".


    Quote:

    2. is there a way for this to not go on my criminal record? (diversion program, dropping charges, etc?)
    If you can convince the state to drop the charge, you can apply to have the arrest expunged. For these types of charges, there's honestly not much to plead down TO, so the state rarely makes any offer.




    Quote:

    3. Should I plea guilty and pay the fine or plea not guilty and wait for the officers to actually produce evidence to prove my guilt beyond reasonable doubts? (I have doubts as to the accuracy of their evidence: 1. they believed 2 fish were given to me instead of four 2. their information on the given fish were solely from "saying" of the elderly gentleman who said he gave a couple of fish away 3. they said they have photos of me catching my one fish but refused to show them to me when requested saying they will use them against me in court)
    Don't take legal advice on something that important from strangers on the internet. ONLY an attorney working for YOU should answer that question. With that said, it doesn't matter HOW you came into possession of the fish...bag limit violations are POSSESSION limits. They are going to tell the judge that they found you in possession of over the limit. The fish in question are typically destroyed, so no, the officers aren't going to be dragging the dead fish into court. The state may or may not make use of the photos. You can either attempt to convince the judge that the officer is lying, or that the officer isn't competent to count to five, or isn't competent to be able to identify the fish as trout, or some such strategy. This is where your attorney will be helpful.

    Quote:

    4. Am I eligible for a copy of the wardens' report? I'm sure they have one just like a police report, but the guy never mentioned that I can pick them up.
    You can request a copy as part of the discovery process.


    Quote:

    5. At the initial hearing, can I ask the judge for diversion or plea bargains before I make an official plea?
    It's the prosecutor who brings any deal to the table. If the state has reason to make an offer, they will. If they've got a strong case, they often won't even make an offer. Again, cases like these don't typically get pled, because there's not a "lesser" charge. It's either "possession of over the limit" or "not".

    Quote:

    6. What should I do????? I don't want this to go on record as I am a 21 years old college student with a whole life ahead of me (plus being in the military). On one hand I want this to be all over with quickly, but on the other hand, having this thing on record is not going to sit well with my future employments :( Please give me all you got. I didn't mean to break the law.
    You need to at the very least discuss the issue with an Indiana attorney - preferably one who practices criminal defense law in the area in question - they will be in the best position to inform you of how similar cases have worked themselves through the local courts, how willing the prosecutors in your court might be to consider alternatives, and the sentencing habits of your local judiciary.
  • 07-15-2011, 10:09 PM
    thephasdin4
    Re: Misdemeanor for Violation of Fish and Game Regulation
    they did not find me IN POSSESSION of more than 5 fish at a time. They were saying they saw me with fish in the morning. What they actually see while writing the citation was my bag of 5 fish in the afternoon. How can they prove that I was in possession of over the bag limit when they have no clue what happened to the bag of fish in the morning? If I say I gave the bag away, would that relinquish me of POSSESSION of the fish? If photographs were taken, how can they prove the fish were indeed... trouts? I made a mistake admitting to catching fish in the morning (fear of arrest). However, I said "fish" and not "trout" so it could have been a carp, etc.
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