Catlett Et Al. v. United States
471 U.S. 1074
SCOTUS
1985
Check Treatment

GENERAL MOTORS CORP. v. THOMAS, ADMINISTRATOR, UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

No. 84-1098

C. A. D. C. Cir.

1074

for leave to proceed in forma pauperis granted. Certiorari denied. THE CHIEF JUSTICE and JUSTICE WHITE would grant certiorari.

No. 84-1098. GENERAL MOTORS CORP. v. THOMAS, ADMINISTRATOR, UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. C. A. D. C. Cir. Certiorari denied. JUSTICE WHITE took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.

No. 84-1209. CATLETT ET AL. v. UNITED STATES. C. A. 6th Cir. Certiorari denied.

JUSTICE WHITE, dissenting.

Petitioners were convicted and fined for hunting doves in a “baited” field contrary to the Federal Migratory Bird Act, 16 U. S. C. § 703, and the regulations issued thereunder, despite their claim that they were unaware of the baiting and that they could not reasonably have been aware of it, since the remaining bait on the property was hidden from view at the time of the hunt.

The Court of Appeals affirmed, observing that petitioners “were apparently unaware of, and had not participated in, the baiting of the field.”

. Nonetheless, the panel applied prior law of the Circuit to hold that scienter is not an element of the crime charged, and thus that petitioners could be convicted even if they could not have reasonably known that the field was baited.

The rule applied is that adopted by several Circuits, reading the regulation in question to impose strict liability on those who hunt over baited fields. See, e. g.,

;
;
;
, cert. denied,
. Nevertheless, as the Court of Appeals below recognized, the rule applied here is contrary to the holding of a case from another Federal Circuit which requires proof of at least the minimum scienter, that hunters should have known of the baited condition.
. There is a clear and recognized division between Circuits on the elements of a federal criminal offense. As the court explained in
, the regulation at issue here “is a national one, founded on a treaty, and [it] should not mean one thing in one state and another elsewhere.”
. I would grant certiorari to resolve the split among the Courts of Appeals.

No. 84-1258. CHEMICAL BANK ET AL. v. PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 OF BENTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON, ET AL. Sup. Ct. Wash. Motions of Salomon Brothers, Inc., et al., American Bankers Association et al., Public Securities Association, American Association of Retired Persons, and National WPPSS 4 and 5 Bondholders’ Committee for leave to file briefs as amici curiae granted. Certiorari denied.

No. 84-1393. BOSTON FIREFIGHTERS UNION, LOCAL 718 v. BOSTON CHAPTER, N. A. A. C. P., INC., ET AL.; and No. 84-1430. BOSTON POLICE PATROLMEN‘S ASSN., INC. v. CASTRO ET AL. C. A. 1st Cir. Certiorari denied. JUSTICE MARSHALL took no part in the consideration or decision of these petitions. Reported below: 749 F. 2d 102.

No. 84-1400. DONOVAN v. MEROLA, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF BRONX COUNTY, NEW YORK, ET AL. C. A. D. C. Cir. Certiorari denied. JUSTICE MARSHALL took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.

No. 84-1402. A. L. ADAMS CONSTRUCTION CO. v. GEORGIA POWER CO. C. A. 11th Cir. Motion of Georgia Branch, Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae granted. Certiorari denied. JUSTICE BLACKMUN took no part in the consideration or decision of this motion and this petition.

No. 84-1427. SIMON v. KROGER CO. ET AL. C. A. 11th Cir. Certiorari denied.

JUSTICE WHITE, with whom JUSTICE BRENNAN and JUSTICE MARSHALL join, dissenting.

Section 10(b) of the National Labor Relations Act limits the time for filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National