United States v. Rodebaugh

798 F.3d 1281, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15027, 2015 WL 5011174
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedAugust 25, 2015
Docket13-1081
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 798 F.3d 1281 (United States v. Rodebaugh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Rodebaugh, 798 F.3d 1281, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15027, 2015 WL 5011174 (10th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

*1287 PER CURIAM.

In this appeal, the court affirms on all issues. This disposition is addressed in two opinions: one by Judge Matheson and one by Judge Bacharach.

Parts I and II(A)-(D) of Judge Matheson’s opinion represent the unanimous opinion of the court. There, the court affirms the conviction and prison sentence, rejecting Mr. Dennis Rodebaugh’s challenges to the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress, the validity of the underlying Colorado regulations, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction on each count, and the application of enhancements to the base offense level under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Judge Bacharach’s opinion is joined by Judge Moritz and represents the opinion of the court with respect to Mr. Rodebaugh’s challenges to an occupational restriction among the terms of supervised release. On these issues, Judge Matheson dissents, as discussed in Part 11(E) of his opinion.

Finally, we deny Mr. Rodebaugh’s “First Motion to Supplement the Record on Appeal.”

MATHESON, Circuit Judge.

Dennis E. Rodebaugh ran D & S Guide and Outfitters (“D & S”), an outfitting and guide service in Meeker, Colorado. 1 Through D & S, Mr. Rodebaugh took mostly out-of-state clients on elk and deer hunts in the White River National Forest near Meeker, where they waited in tree stands for elk and deer to approach before shooting them. 2 To attract the elk and deer, Mr. Rodebaugh spread salt around the base of the tree stands. Colorado law prohibits this practice of “baiting.” And selling wildlife taken in violation of state law is a federal crime under the Lacey Act.

After an extensive investigation, Mr. Rodebaugh was indicted for several Lacey Act violations. A jury found him guilty on six counts. The district court sentenced him to 41 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He appeals, raising various trial and sentencing issues. We exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a).

I. BACKGROUND

A. Legal Background

Colorado law makes it unlawful for any person to hunt, take, or possess any wildlife except as authorized by statute or regulation. Colo.Rev.Stat. § 33-6-109(1). Elk and deer, alive or dead, are “wildlife” in Colorado. Id. § 33-1-102(51).

Colorado law prohibits the use of baiting. 2 Colo.Code Regs. § 406-0:004(A) (“[T]he use of baits and other aids in hunting or taking big game, small game and furbearers is prohibited.”). “Baiting” is the “placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of any salt, mineral, grain, or other feed so as to constitute a lure, attraction or entieement for wildlife.” Id. § 406-0:000(A)(4).

The Lacey Act makes it a federal crime to sell in interstate commerce wildlife that is taken in violation of state law:

It is unlawful for any person—
(2) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce—
(A) any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in viola *1288 tion of any law or regulation of any State or in violation of any foreign law....
16 U.S.C. § 3372(a). The sale of wildlife includes the sale of “guiding, outfitting, or other services ... for the illegal taking, acquiring, receiving, transporting, or possessing of fish or wildlife.” Id. § 3372(c)(1).

B. Factual History

1. Mr. Rodebaugh’s Business and Baiting Activities

In 1987, Mr. Rodebaugh purchased D & S from Jack Peters. Through D & S, Mr. Rodebaugh led out-of-state hunting clients on elk and deer hunts in the White River National Forest.

Mr. Rodebaugh offered his clients “bugle” hunts and “tree-stand” hunts. In bugle hunts, hunters called for elk with a bugle. When the hunter was close enough to an elk, the hunter could shoot. This kind of hunt involved a lot of moving around. Mr. Rodebaugh could take, at most, only two to three people on these hunts.

In tree-stand hunts, the hunters remained stationary, waiting for a target to come into range. Mr. Rodebaugh’s tree stands had nicknames such as “Big Ridge,” “Mike’s,” “Cathy’s,” “Upper Duck,” “Lower Duck,” and “Paul’s.” Most of the stands were erected near wallows, where male deer and elk urinate and roll around to attract does and cows during mating season. On most trips, Mr. Rodebaugh would take a few hunters out on bugle hunts and leave the other hunters in the tree stands. The tree stands allowed Mr. Rodebaugh to take more hunters and make more money on each trip.

Mr. Rodebaugh’s hunters enjoyed “very high success rates, specifically on elk.” ROA, Vol. Ill at 530. The “shot percentage” — the opportunity to take a shot at an animal — was in “the high 80s or low 90[s].” Id. at 1376. To accomplish this success, Mr. Rodebaugh baited using sheep salt, a mineral supplement commonly used by sheep ranchers. Mr. Rodebaugh bought the salt at Snyder & Counts feed store and placed it on the ground around the stands. He testified he used the salt because he knew animals would come for it. He said animals needed the minerals from the salt to grow horns and provide for their offspring. He placed the salt under logs and rocks so the animals would not use it too quickly and so it would have time to soak into the soil, meaning it would be available for longer periods of time.

2. The Investigation and Confession

In August 2005, a landowner informed a state wildlife officer that he suspected Mr. Rodebaugh was baiting the tree stands to attract elk and deer for his clients. An extensive state and federal investigation of Mr. Rodebaugh’s activities ensued. Law enforcement agents hid cameras near tree stands and worked undercover as hunting clients. Eventually, investigators searched Mr. Rodebaugh’s home, which uncovered evidence, including receipts for salt from Snyder & Counts.

During the search, law enforcement agents interviewed Mr. Rodebaugh. Initially, he denied placing salt near the stands, telling the investigators that people might think he salted his stands because some of them were located over “old cowboy salt licks.” Id. at 877-78. But when the agents said they had a photograph of him placing salt, Mr. Rodebaugh admitted to baiting, saying he learned the practice from Mr. Peters. He baited every year as early as April, but never past August because “he was afraid that the hunters would be able to see the salt, and he didn’t want to get caught.” Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
798 F.3d 1281, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15027, 2015 WL 5011174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-rodebaugh-ca10-2015.