[redwitch]

Contra Costa County really didn't care if you worked in the legal field, including having a law degree. So, I served on a civil jury, a criminal trial and a one week stint as a grand juror (ask me how to make meth -- I now know it intimately; there was a case about it every day with the same testimony every time).

Sam, I think we all have a sense of entitlement, but Rainey and the Morses put themselves above the law when they hunted without a license and there's no excuse for that type of entitlement. And, no, I don't think it is jealousy that eats at the Montana ranchers. Most of them are pretty well off in their own rights -- you can't own the spreads they do without being successful. The smaller ranchers are probably another story, but not the ones that I know. They want their neighbors to be there, to join in on the round-ups (actually, quite fun), the barbeques, etc. For someone to buy a ranch simply so they and their friends can hunt on it is not what they want for neighbors. They really do want the ranches to be working ranches and they don't want them owned by corporations or those who don't care about the environment of their community. I've heard many discussions about this in the past (haven't been there in a few years, so have no idea what's being said now but I can only imagine it's gotten worse).

I do agree it would have been nice had they charged everyone much earlier. I have no idea why it took so long, but I imagine part of it is making sure the charges would stick. The FDA really doesn't have much clout (and why in heck is hunting under the auspices of the FDA is beyond me), so investigations have to be extremely thorough. Another factor could be the "shotgun" approach -- the more charges against the culprits, the better chance of making something stick. Another part is probably they wanted to up the ante on the charges. Just getting them for one season would probably not leave on impact on the next group who decide to hunt without a license, so it does make sense for the charges to be over a couple of seasons, but I'm not convinced 4 years was necessary other than to try to add more to the coffers.

What's interesting to me is how the undercover investigator is being criticized -- not for waiting so long to bring the charges but for killing a sheep (big horn?) out of season. Think he'd have a hard time hunting with this group if he didn't hunt when they did but that seems to be irrelevant to Montanans. Some want charges brought against him, too.