Question - What good is it...

[katqanna]

What good is it to have our sportsmen's dollars paying for game wardens, wardens who do their duty responsibly, issue citations, only to have a county attorney's office decide, that for certain people, they don't need to go to court, ask the justice of the peace to simply dismiss the case? Voila! Case dismissed!

Worse, is when these ethical game wardens get thrown under the bus for enforcing, "the laws of this state and the rules of the department with reference to the protection, preservation, and propagation of game and fur-bearing animals, fish, and game birds." What kind of message does that send to other game wardens? "Do your duty responsibly, ethically and there will be career repercussions."

I tried to get justice court documents, only to be told they could not give them to me and diverted me to the attorneys office. I then told that office, I had a right to those public documents. Of course they would not accept my charge card over the phone to get them, so I contacted a hunter from that area who ran the $10 over so they could be emailed right away. This is discouraging. Not only were these not the only violations this person committed (only a small portion were chosen for citations), but this county office has done this before and for years apparently.

What are we paying for? Why the double standard?

 

[Bulldog0156]

What county?

 

[James Riley]

File a formal complaint with the Bar Association specifically naming the attorney(s) who failed to do their job. May not get anywhere, but it's a start. Prosecutorial Discretion should not be abused.

 

[quarterhorse]

I agree with you. In our area it seems that the legal system just doesn't take fish and game violations seriously. I'm sure they have higher priorities to deal with. It would be very difficult to be a game warden. Lots of people hate would hate you due to your job. Then when you do your job getting someone prosecuted is difficult at best due to the legal system itself. Frustrating.

 

[Gerald Martin]

If its a case of insufficient evidence that a prosecutor can't make a solid case on I can understand dismissal of charges. If its a case of knowing someone in high places that the prosecutor either doesn't care or can't get a conviction as your post implies then that is completely unacceptable and the prosecutor needs to be held accountable.

There are a lot of variables that could enter in here. If unwillingness to prosecute game violations is involved, said attorneys need to feel the heat.

 

[antlerradar]

Big Horn county is famous for this. I have even had violators give that oh s--t look when I informed them that they were in Rosebud and not Big Horn County.

 

[katqanna]

What county?

Lake

I was asked to interview Larry Jent, who is running for Attorney General. I did some research on him, made a list of hunter/angler conservation issues that intersected his past history as a State Representative and Senator, we did the video interview Monday (might have it done by next week after I get this other contract job finished). One of the cases I asked him about was the Seyler Bridge case, because PLWA's attorney wrote to AG Fox, asking him to step in on behalf of the Madison County citizens that we getting a raw deal. Fox never replied. Jent said he would have taken it on. Not only do State AGs have a right, they have a duty and, he brought up a MCA that I need to look up, citing they have authority over county attorneys not doing their job.

I talked to Jent about this case yesterday, after I received the documents. He asked me to look into something and get back to him. The research is uncovering far more than I expected, like the previous history by the county. Jent, apparently, wanted to be a Game Warden, which is why he dealt with legislation to help strengthen their ability to do their jobs. I really enjoyed meeting him, he had also interned on that Wyoming Red Rim case I have on my website on the Unlawful Inclosures of Public Lands Act I found concerning the Wilks fence and the Durfee Hills.

Anyway, the evidence is there. I am looking into the case reports for the citations, which I was told were only a fraction of the violations. As soon as I get this more nailed down, I will post, maybe y'all will have some ideas of how this can be addressed cause this sucks and frustrates me greatly on a public trust level.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Kat---If the case was dismissed without prejudice, some pressure should be put on the County Prosecutor by the AG to refile the charges! If that isn't successful, the AG should do it himself!

 

[katqanna]

Topgun, It was dismissed without prejudice and the December scheduled jury trial was vacated. That is part of what I need to look into the MCAs for AGs on, this is uncharted territory for me. I was wondering if the AG could take this up. If I learn these laws, the different avenues, I might have something to work with, know what direction to begin fighting back. Thank you for that suggestion.

 

[James Riley]

Local. It's not a dirty word, because there are good locals. But this is another example of why federal lands should remain federal. Once the State get's a hold of them, then some folks are bound to "look the other way" when their buddy does something against the law. It's the same reason the FBI will not allow new agents to get a duty station back in their home town. Too much pressure.

 

[katqanna]

I found the MCA for the State Attorney General concerning the county attorneys Jent mentioned.

MCA 2-15-501 (5) to exercise supervisory powers over county attorneys in all matters pertaining to the duties of their offices and from time to time require of them reports as to the condition of public business entrusted to their charge. The supervisory powers granted to the attorney general by this subsection include the power to order and direct county attorneys in all matters pertaining to the duties of their office. The county attorney shall, when ordered or directed by the attorney general, promptly institute and diligently prosecute in the proper court and in the name of the state of Montana any criminal or civil action or special proceeding.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I found the MCA for the State Attorney General concerning the county attorneys Jent mentioned.

There ya go Kat! That's why a state has an AG!

 

[Straight Arrow]

Thanks, Kat. 'Another example of why Larry Jent may be the best candidate for AG.

 

[katqanna]

I have to run and grab my organic heavy whipping cream and some bacon from Town and Country, not going to have my English Tea without it a second morning in a row, that's just wrong. But when I get back, I am going to call Larry with what I found and see what he advises (Hope to get that video done this weekend). I talked with the Game Warden yesterday to get clarification on the citations, to better understand the process.

I am getting more frustrated, the more I dig, with the apparent lack of concern for these laws and the possible preferential treatment. There were 5 citations over a year. Based on some minutes I found of a meeting this spring, someone is going to introduce legislation, connected to this subject, that would further erode these laws. I am looking at this case's application during those public legislative meetings, which I will be there for, with these copies in hand to fight back against the privatization.

 

[What Map]

Kat, Thanks again for your research. Another interesting topic.
Larry Jent will make a very good AG. He certainly understands the complex issues facing resident DIY hunters and anglers.

 

[katqanna]

I spoke with Jent yesterday to update him on what I was finding, as well as updating the journalist I turned all my research over to. They had done a related investigation a few years ago, thought they might want to know it is still going on and the specifics of this case, since they had done so well last time and they might have more resources at their disposal than I do. Part of why I have not cited specific names or some details, wasn't trying to be cryptic, y'all know I am about accountability and transparency, I am waiting for the article. In my mind, this situation has much broader applications.

I had brought up the proposed legislative changes that would hinder Game Wardens to Jent; I brought up this man's position and those ramifications; and mentioned finding the MCA Jent brought up in the video interview, which he expounded on in application to this case. He questioned if AG Fox had been sought to fulfill this role in this Lake County case, so that is being looked into. After getting off the phone, that made me start wondering...

Our sportsmen's dollars pay for our wardens to do a job on our and the resources behalf. So what were the statistics of Game Warden citations issued across Montana and per region? Of those, how many were dismissed, how many went to court, and how many were convicted? So I called Helena Enforcement and had to put an official Public Information Request in for my wonderings. I had also checked to see if there was a recent Legislative Services audit on the subject, as well as calling them in case my search was not effective. They stated they didn't see anything recent either, within the last 5 years or so. This may be an interesting data mining project.

edit: Just thinking, so I sent an information request to the AG office for any requests for intervention in the last 10 years, concerning Game Warden citations issued. I think we should know if our FWP wardens/enforcement seeking AG help and if so, was it being listened to or ignored.

 

[schmalts]

What good is it to have our sportsmen's dollars paying for game wardens, wardens who do their duty responsibly, issue citations, only to have a county attorney's office decide, that for certain people, they don't need to go to court, ask the justice of the peace to simply dismiss the case? Voila! Case dismissed!

Worse, is when these ethical game wardens get thrown under the bus for enforcing, "the laws of this state and the rules of the department with reference to the protection, preservation, and propagation of game and fur-bearing animals, fish, and game birds." What kind of message does that send to other game wardens? "Do your duty responsibly, ethically and there will be career repercussions."

I tried to get justice court documents, only to be told they could not give them to me and diverted me to the attorneys office. I then told that office, I had a right to those public documents. Of course they would not accept my charge card over the phone to get them, so I contacted a hunter from that area who ran the $10 over so they could be emailed right away. This is discouraging. Not only were these not the only violations this person committed (only a small portion were chosen for citations), but this county office has done this before and for years apparently.

What are we paying for? Why the double standard?

This applies to the POTUS, what if he is doing it?

 

[katqanna]

When I called the Legislative Audit Division last week to see if an audit had been done on the Enforcement division, I was told nothing recently. Angus Maciver, the Legislative Auditor, was out of town, so I left a message. He just called me back, stated the last one was done in 1996. So I requested a copy and just finished reading through it. I wanted to get an overview.

1996 Legislative Audit Analysis of Game Warden Work.

Interestlingly, on page 13, it mentioned that in 1975 there were 64 Field Wardens. 20 years later in 1995 (doing the audit) there were only 66 Field Wardens, yet their responsibilities had increased with no corresponding increase in the number of wardens. Out of curiosity, I called Helena, about 20 years later (2016) we only have 72 Field Wardens currently employed, with 2 open positions, 1 in Region 1 and another in Region 3. That makes a possible total of 74. So in the last 20+ years, we have only seen an increase of 8 Field Warden positions. I think this needs to be addressed, especially with the increased outdoor recreation numbers and the impact on our economy, as one of the major economic drivers.

Surely we can do better than just 10 Field Wardens in 40 years!

 

[hank4elk]

We have your MT problem,on steroids in NM.

 

[katqanna]

Here are the Citations issued that I requested from the Lake County Justice Court

FWP Swan River map, Fatty Creek.

These are not all the "violations" that were found, the warden said. I called the Lake County attorney's office to see about getting the case reports for the citations, I have left messages twice.

I have a number of reasons for pursuing this, most stem from our wardens and other LE being able to do their job. Without access to these kinds of reports, it would seriously hamstring them. Currently, law requires them to submit client logs. On March 1,2, 2016, the Board of Outfitters met in Helena, Tabor is appointed to this board. MOGA reported on the meeting, of which Tabor is President elect. At the bottom of the page, concerning future legislation:

Remove the requirement to submit client logs – This will require statutory change. Outfitters will be required to retain and provide logs if audited, you would just noit have to submit them to the Board. We see this as a very significant cost savings as all the logs being submitted now must be scanned and filed. The counter is that these logs MAY help some outfitters faced with allocative decisions on some waterways. That is not likely simply because of the manner in which the data is collected retained and the cost of mining that data to verify past use. We are committed to getting this law amended.

As a retired FWP game warden explained it, currently those records are public information, which they need to investigate. They can gain access to public records without tipping off who they are investigating, sometimes investigations take years. But if outfitters are not required to submit records, the records are private property; a warden or other LE would have to subpoena them, which would give a heads up to the outfitter they were being investigated. Additionally, with the pattern of county attorneys dismissing cases, it makes outfitter laws pretty toothless.

I spoke with the DNRC office in that area, they said they did not renew Tabors commercial use license because of the issues. Tabors subcontractor did not have a commercial use license with DNRC for each of the events. The cost for commercial licenses is based on a set fee or 5% of gross earnings if larger, based on records, but if they don't have to report, how are you going to know if the money collected by DNRC for school trust, is even accurate?

I called FS District Rangers office in that area to see if they had any violations by Tabor. I have not heard back from the LE yet, but was told that there had been a number of complaints against him. When I asked if they were from landowners, other outfitters, the public or other agencies, I was told I would have to put a FOIA in for that information, which I did. I also put in a request with Department of Labor & Industry, Compliance for statistics on outfitter/guide complaints, to see if there was any foundation to the statement that they received the most complaints than any other licensed occupation, or if that was just bs. I put a Public Information request in to FWP for 5 years of statistics on how many citations have been issued, how many dismissed, how many convicted, per year, per region to see if there is a pattern in certain areas of dismissals. I put a request with the State AG for any requests for intervention to prosecute FWP citations.

These are some of the concerns I have with our sportsmen's dollars, FWP enforcement being able to do their job properly, protecting the resource, and the accountability/transparency aspect.


Judge dismisses FWP investigation of Bullock appointee

Last month, Lake County Justice of the Peace Randal Owens threw out a series of outfitter violations leveled by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks against a Swan Lake outfitter and gubernatorial appointee. The order vacated a jury trial set for mid-December and came at the request of Deputy Lake County Attorney Molly Owen, who filed a motion on July 5 to dismiss the charges against Patrick M. Tabor without prejudice citing "an insufficient likelihood of conviction." The investigation had been led by FWP Warden Frank Bowen.

Link to the previous, related issue in Lake County with FWP citations dismissed I found when I first got the citations on Aug. 16th.

To serve and deflect

Last year, investigators accused seven Lake County police officers of a range of dishonorable and criminal acts, including poaching, perjury, nepotism, ethics violations, false claims of military combat, and witness tampering and intimidation. The investigators moved to strip those officers of their badges.

As of last week, all seven cases have been resolved. One officer lost his badge. Of the other six, complaints were dismissed against three cops, two were issued minor sanctions and one was given a lengthy suspension.

The two primary investigators did not get off so easy. A Montana game warden and the director of the state agency that polices the police became the targets of smear campaigns that undermined their work exposing what the warden called a "culture of corruption" pervading law enforcement agencies in Lake County. Both left their positions—the warden was reassigned, while the director resigned under pressure.

The reputed mantra of the accused officers—that "you can't break the law if you are the law"—appears to ring as true today as when the investigations began more than three years ago.

State Investigator Describes Resistance, Alleges Tampering Among Lake County Law Officials

While saying that the majority of law officers are upstanding, Bowen described allegedly brazen criminality among officers who were the subject of his investigation, with barroom bragging characterized by the motto: “You can’t break the law if you are the law.”

“When (people) ask them, ‘How can you get away with doing that, much less come to the bar and brag about it?’” Bowen testified at the hearing. “They say, ‘Nobody screws with law enforcement in Lake County.’ So that’s the backdrop we’re up against.”...
Sen. Jim Shockley of Victor, chairman of the Law and Justice Interim Committee, said he has taken an interest in the Lake County investigations by FWP and other state agencies and boards. Shockley believes there are conflict-of-interest concerns, with a county attorney reluctant to prosecute his own law officers.

“You must believe in the tooth fairy if you think that that county attorney is going to pursue claims against his deputies,” Shockley said.

In an interview, Shockley said when officers are accused of crimes in Ravalli County the cases are turned over to outside investigators and he believes that’s how those situations should be handled statewide.

“Obviously somebody’s got something to hide,” Shockley said, “and it ain’t Bowen.”