Gross Misdemeanor

[grundy53]

Listen all, I fully expected this to be the outcome of posting this.  Many of you are really succinct in the way you hunt and do not make errors.  I get that.  My only problem with this is that this was a teachable moment for the officer and she chose to try to criminally prosecute me, giving me a record, potentially impacting my living, and costing me thousands of dollars if I fight this legally with representation.  No matter your stance on notching a tag, I will tell you it is nutty that I am being prosecuted to this level and I deem it a waste of our resources at so many levels.  This is my last post on the subject and thanks to all that have helped me along the way.  Hopefully this helps some other hunter when notching his or her tag.

Wow- taking it that way- really? Lets get a few things cleared up buddy. I have yet to read where anyone posted in this column how they have not made errors. You want a teachable moment over this then lets put it in perspective.
Your whinning here is no different than someone who got a speeding ticket. You broke the law and got caught. The law is clear and posted right on your tag and in the hunting handbook. The fines for such violations are also public information.  Pretty simple really, YOU didn't follow simple instructions and here you are crying to the world that WDFW is wasting tax dollars because YOU are too stupid to understand how to cut out and remove a notch in your tag.

So that's it? No leniency, no warnings? Just hang em high? Some one who DID notch their tag (just not to the exacting specifications of our oh so great game department. You want to waste our tax dollars that I worked my a$$ off for? For what to possiblely ruin someone's record? All this when a warning would have been sufficient.... well BUDDY you and people like you are going to be the reason why we no longer have new hunters, and therefore the tradition of hunting will die. Nice work.

[markts]

Im with you Grundy-The guy didnt notch the tag properly, how about a ticket and be done with it. No we will waste thousands of dollars of tax payers money instead

[chester]

Listen all, I fully expected this to be the outcome of posting this.  Many of you are really succinct in the way you hunt and do not make errors.  I get that.  My only problem with this is that this was a teachable moment for the officer and she chose to try to criminally prosecute me, giving me a record, potentially impacting my living, and costing me thousands of dollars if I fight this legally with representation.  No matter your stance on notching a tag, I will tell you it is nutty that I am being prosecuted to this level and I deem it a waste of our resources at so many levels.  This is my last post on the subject and thanks to all that have helped me along the way.  Hopefully this helps some other hunter when notching his or her tag.

Wow- taking it that way- really? Lets get a few things cleared up buddy. I have yet to read where anyone posted in this column how they have not made errors. You want a teachable moment over this then lets put it in perspective.
Your whinning here is no different than someone who got a speeding ticket. You broke the law and got caught. The law is clear and posted right on your tag and in the hunting handbook. The fines for such violations are also public information.  Pretty simple really, YOU didn't follow simple instructions and here you are crying to the world that WDFW is wasting tax dollars because YOU are too stupid to understand how to cut out and remove a notch in your tag.

So that's it? No leniency, no warnings? Just hang em high? Some one who DID notch their tag (just not to the exacting specifications of our oh so great game department. You want to waste our tax dollars that I worked my a$$ off for? For what to possiblely ruin someone's record? All this when a warning would have been sufficient.... well BUDDY you and people like you are going to be the reason why we no longer have new hunters, and therefore the tradition of hunting will die. Nice work.

Your making sense again 

[shoot-em-dead]

I am saying that it is no different than getting caught speeding- I hope he can get the charges dropped or brought to a smaller charge but he did break a law that is obviously very clear.
 This is starting to make me wonder what you guys would think if a hunter made a simple mistake and shot a 2 point in a 3 point minimum unit and got caught. Would you still be pissed at the game warden for issuing a ticket? Would that be waisting tax dollars too?

[markts]

I am saying that it is no different than getting caught speeding- I hope he can get the charges dropped or brought to a smaller charge but he did break a law that is obviously very clear.
 This is starting to make me wonder what you guys would think if a hunter made a simple mistake and shot a 2 point in a 3 point minimum unit and got caught. Would you still be pissed at the game warden for issuing a ticket? Would that be waisting tax dollars too?

Certainly not

[Houndhunter]

I am saying that it is no different than getting caught speeding- I hope he can get the charges dropped or brought to a smaller charge but he did break a law that is obviously very clear.
 This is starting to make me wonder what you guys would think if a hunter made a simple mistake and shot a 2 point in a 3 point minimum unit and got caught. Would you still be pissed at the game warden for issuing a ticket? Would that be waisting tax dollars too?

the whole thing is this beeoch gave him a pretty severe citation for what he did, no one is saying he shouldnt get a ticket

[grundy53]

I am saying that it is no different than getting caught speeding- I hope he can get the charges dropped or brought to a smaller charge but he did break a law that is obviously very clear.
 This is starting to make me wonder what you guys would think if a hunter made a simple mistake and shot a 2 point in a 3 point minimum unit and got caught. Would you still be pissed at the game warden for issuing a ticket? Would that be waisting tax dollars too?

well i think if you accidentally shot a two point and immediately called the game warden and told them you made a mistake they should treat you better then someone who didn't notify authorities and wantonly wasted it. You should still get a ticket, just maybe not the max. But that's beside the point here. that's kind of like comparing  a drunk in public to a DUI. My point is (A) he did notch the tag (B) he then submitted his harvest report. (which would be pretty dumb if you planned to keep hunting) and (C) he took it to a registered butcher with the tag. If i was a game warden i would take all of these things into account and show some discretion. you would have to be pretty stupid or pretty vindictive to not see/ignore the fact that there is absolutely no intent. if you do have to site him why make it a gross misdemeanour? I just think the game officer in question probably could have found a more productive way to spend her time then screw this guy over.

[Bob33]

If an officer had thought the act was intentional the consequences could have been worse: confiscation of game, confiscation of equipment, etc.  I wouldn't be so quick to place all the blame on an officer.

[FC]

I'm with Grundy on this one, it sounds to me like the GW went a bit too far and should have used some discretion. The OP was obviously trying to do things the right way and made a simple mistake that a simple verbal correction would have sufficed to get his point across.

[Bob33]

If nothing else, I suspect everyone who has read this thread will never leave a notch hanging.

[Blacktail Sniper]

One thing that I read in the original posting is as follows:

"I just received a court appearance order from the county prosecutor summoning me to court on the 27th of December for second degree unlawful hunting of big game.  I just received this today."

If I am reading that correctly, the game warden did not issue a citation, as she could very well have, right at that time.   It sounds like she filed a report and turned it over to the Prosecutor's office to determine what, if any charges were warranted.  Then the Prosecutor decided to file that particular charge and sent out a summons for a court appearance.

From what I have seen of how the game department works as far as enforcement goes, is that they will cite you on the spot if they have no doubts about what has happened.   There sems to be very little room for discretion or warnings in their world.  Apparently, from the wording in the original posting, this is not what happened.

That may be in part because they are spread so thin and so much is gotten away with that they figure if they caught someone doing it this time, how many other times have they done it and gotten away with it?  So it seems to me, that she may have had some doubt about whether it was intentional wrong doing or just a dumb rookie mistake, but she is still required to file a report about the incident and turn it in to be reviewed by the powers that be.

Regardless, sorry to hear about this happening, hope everything works out in the end.  

[Blacktail Sniper]

If nothing else, I suspect everyone who has read this thread will never leave a notch hanging.

Yeah, I think you hit that one right on the head!!

[GEARHEAD]

They are simply padding their stats. they dont care if you get off. because at the end of the year they will put out a press release stating the citations issued, to show that they are earning their dime. in the reality, of it all, they are instead cruising butcher shops and looking for these tag issues, rather than going into the woods. think of the time she spent on just this one citation. goes to the butcher shop, probably finds three or four others as well to ticket. then has to find the tag owners, interview, then go to the office, or computer, enter the data, do the reports. thats almost a day of not being in the field. the gamie that patrols where i hunt, near Spangle, this is all he does, goes to eggers and other butchers, finds these tag issues then searches, interviews and cites. remember when the tags were adhesive. well guys would tag the deer, then drop it at the butcher shop. at the shop, they would split it down the middle and put it back together on cardboard. well this little sob gamie would be in there twice a week i guess, citing everysingle one of those tag holders, spending his deer season knocking on doors, meanwhile the road hunters are doing drivebys on everything that moves and trespassing, and threatening landowners. i could get this guy 12 real arrests in just the first two hours of deer season, but he's cruising the butcher shops instead to pad his stats. had to vent sorry. as stated in an earlier thread, washington manages hunters, not wildlife.

[bigtex]

i could get this guy 12 real arrests in just the first two hours of deer season, but he's cruising the butcher shops instead to pad his stats. had to vent sorry. as stated in an earlier thread, washington manages hunters, not wildlife.

WDFW is required by the state legislature to regulate the pet store, fish processor and distributor, fur dealer, taxidermist, butcher, and game farm business. They regulate them by checking them and making sure all of their fish and wildlife they are posessing are legal. Well guess what, the OP was in violation.

It's amazing how many people on here want more enforcement, but when someone on here gets cited for violating the law they complain about enforcement.

[chester]

i could get this guy 12 real arrests in just the first two hours of deer season, but he's cruising the butcher shops instead to pad his stats. had to vent sorry. as stated in an earlier thread, washington manages hunters, not wildlife.

WDFW is required by the state legislature to regulate the pet store, fish processor and distributor, fur dealer, taxidermist, butcher, and game farm business. They regulate them by checking them and making sure all of their fish and wildlife they are posessing are legal. Well guess what, the OP was in violation.

It's amazing how many people on here want more enforcement, but when someone on here gets cited for violating the law they complain about enforcement.

Most want more enforcement on things in the field. Catching people in the act, stopping further crimes from being commited, having a presence for the most part. we want more enforcement there. Giving this guy a ticket isnt gonna keep save that deer. Enforcement seems to like to take a stance on things that arent that much in the big picture. they are just trying to line there pockets. And when a whole heard gets slaughtered they dont follow up on it. (im talking westside) but they will sure as hell run you down to count and recount 15 clams or get you for leaving a shell in your gun and leaning it on your bumper. Are those acts illegal? yes. But with few peop in in enforcement there time could be much better spent.