- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,007
State seeks to dismiss hunter's lawsuit
By JEFF GEARINO, Casper Star Tribune Southwest Wyoming bureau
1/4/03
GREEN RIVER -- The state's system for allocating nonresident hunting licenses does not violate federal equal protection laws or federal commerce laws, according to briefs filed by state attorneys representing the Game and Fish Department.
Attorneys filed an amended motion Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne that seeks to dismiss a hunter's lawsuit that is challenging the constitutionality of the Game and Fish Department's policies regarding out-of-state hunters, officials said.
Disgruntled Florida hunter Donald J. Schutz filed the suit Sept. 11 against the state of Wyoming and Wyoming Game and Fish Department Acting Director Tom Thorne. The suit alleges the agency's pricing structures and rules governing nonresident hunters are unconstitutional
Schutz's lawsuit said the nonresident quota system used by the Game and Fish Department violates his rights under the United States Constitution.
Schutz, an attorney in Florida and a former Laramie resident and University of Wyoming graduate, also alleges in court documents that both the guide requirement for nonresidents hunting in wilderness areas and the existing nonresident price structure for hunting licenses are unconstitutional.
Wyoming Attorney General's Office attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November, according to court documents and attorneys involved in the case.
Schutz filed an amended complaint with the court on Dec. 13 and state attorneys on Thursday filed an amended motion to dismiss, officials said.
In the motion, Wyoming attorneys said the lawsuit should be dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction because Schutz has no standing to bring the claim that the rules governing nonresident hunters violates the federal Equal Protection Clause or the Commerce Clause.
The plaintiff's claims under the two clauses "should be dismissed as a matter of law because nonresident hunters are not a suspect class, hunting is not a fundamental right, and the (Wyoming) statutes are rationally related to a legitimate state interest," the state's brief said.
Wyoming regulations that allocate hunting licenses do not violate the federal commerce clause, the brief said.
The brief noted that the Wyoming Supreme Court found the agency's statutes to be "rationally related" to a legitimate state interest, that game is not considered an article of commerce and any effect on interstate commerce of nonresident hunters is minimal.
The suit said it is unconstitutional for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to allocate a higher percentage of hunting licenses to state residents - particularly for exotic species such as bighorn sheep - through its nonresident quota system.
Many of the department's big game license allocations are currently set by the Legislature through state statutes.
For example, the 20 percent of deer and antelope licenses and the 25 percent of the sheep licenses going to nonresidents is statutory. Other license allocations are done by Game and Fish Commission regulations.
The lawsuit said Schutz purchased Wyoming elk licenses in 1998 and 2002 and that Schutz plans to participate in the 2003 drawing for bighorn sheep. If successful, Schutz intends to sell the inedible portions of big game in interstate and international commerce, according to the lawsuit.
Wyoming statute does not prohibit the sale or barter of any inedible portion of any game animal, game bird or game. But Schutz contends in the lawsuit that Wyoming residents have a "significant economic advantage" over nonresidents in that commercial enterprise.
The Schutz lawsuit marks the second time in the past few years that the agency's license distribution system has been challenged in U.S. District Court.
In 2000, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Commission in a lawsuit brought by the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association over the state's hunting license distribution. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal filed by the association in March of 2002.
By JEFF GEARINO, Casper Star Tribune Southwest Wyoming bureau
1/4/03
GREEN RIVER -- The state's system for allocating nonresident hunting licenses does not violate federal equal protection laws or federal commerce laws, according to briefs filed by state attorneys representing the Game and Fish Department.
Attorneys filed an amended motion Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne that seeks to dismiss a hunter's lawsuit that is challenging the constitutionality of the Game and Fish Department's policies regarding out-of-state hunters, officials said.
Disgruntled Florida hunter Donald J. Schutz filed the suit Sept. 11 against the state of Wyoming and Wyoming Game and Fish Department Acting Director Tom Thorne. The suit alleges the agency's pricing structures and rules governing nonresident hunters are unconstitutional
Schutz's lawsuit said the nonresident quota system used by the Game and Fish Department violates his rights under the United States Constitution.
Schutz, an attorney in Florida and a former Laramie resident and University of Wyoming graduate, also alleges in court documents that both the guide requirement for nonresidents hunting in wilderness areas and the existing nonresident price structure for hunting licenses are unconstitutional.
Wyoming Attorney General's Office attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November, according to court documents and attorneys involved in the case.
Schutz filed an amended complaint with the court on Dec. 13 and state attorneys on Thursday filed an amended motion to dismiss, officials said.
In the motion, Wyoming attorneys said the lawsuit should be dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction because Schutz has no standing to bring the claim that the rules governing nonresident hunters violates the federal Equal Protection Clause or the Commerce Clause.
The plaintiff's claims under the two clauses "should be dismissed as a matter of law because nonresident hunters are not a suspect class, hunting is not a fundamental right, and the (Wyoming) statutes are rationally related to a legitimate state interest," the state's brief said.
Wyoming regulations that allocate hunting licenses do not violate the federal commerce clause, the brief said.
The brief noted that the Wyoming Supreme Court found the agency's statutes to be "rationally related" to a legitimate state interest, that game is not considered an article of commerce and any effect on interstate commerce of nonresident hunters is minimal.
The suit said it is unconstitutional for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to allocate a higher percentage of hunting licenses to state residents - particularly for exotic species such as bighorn sheep - through its nonresident quota system.
Many of the department's big game license allocations are currently set by the Legislature through state statutes.
For example, the 20 percent of deer and antelope licenses and the 25 percent of the sheep licenses going to nonresidents is statutory. Other license allocations are done by Game and Fish Commission regulations.
The lawsuit said Schutz purchased Wyoming elk licenses in 1998 and 2002 and that Schutz plans to participate in the 2003 drawing for bighorn sheep. If successful, Schutz intends to sell the inedible portions of big game in interstate and international commerce, according to the lawsuit.
Wyoming statute does not prohibit the sale or barter of any inedible portion of any game animal, game bird or game. But Schutz contends in the lawsuit that Wyoming residents have a "significant economic advantage" over nonresidents in that commercial enterprise.
The Schutz lawsuit marks the second time in the past few years that the agency's license distribution system has been challenged in U.S. District Court.
In 2000, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Commission in a lawsuit brought by the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association over the state's hunting license distribution. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal filed by the association in March of 2002.
