rsimms - 2/2/2010 4:48 PM
sprestwood - 2/2/2010 4:29 PM
.......It is a balancing act. Wildlife Officers know full well that a Judge is never going to uphold the required penalty if an individual is indeed found guilty of 111 violations. A fine & court cost for each violation would amount to roughly $16,000. You might want to fine them that much, but there's no way a judge is going to do that on this type violation.
And it actually hurts the officers credibility with Judges when they "pile on" charges. That's true of any officer... not just the wildlife folks.
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Well then maybe what we need then are some different judges. This wasn't just a few fish over the limit, it was 111. This was a wanton disregard of the law. While I'm certainly not a threat to local fish populations, people who behave in this manner certainly are. I think that a slap on the wrist in a case like this would be an afront to all of us who try to abide by the law. Just my 2 cents.
Tennfisher