ELR Citation: ELR 20452
No(s). 92-10083 (9th Cir. Dec 8, 1992)

The court affirms the conviction of an individual for violating the Lacey Act, which makes it a federal crime to acquire or sell any plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of state law. The defendant and one of his sons were indicted for a conspiracy to dig up saguaro cacti from their wild-growing locations in Arizona for resale in California without complying with the Arizona Native Plant Law. The court holds admissible statements by the defendant's other son that the defendant had taken him to the site of a saguaro cactus, located on state land, and that the son had given to his father part of a downpayment from federal agents for the delivery of the cactus. The defendant acknowledged responsibility for honoring the downpayment, which tied the defendant to his son in the conspiracy. The court further holds that the prosecution did not need to prove that the defendant violated state law by selling a particular type of cactus, because the Arizona statute protects all cacti. Also, although the indictment described a particular type of cactus, it gave adequate notice of the charge that the defendant had unlawfully taken a species of cactus.

Counsel for Plaintiff-Appellee
Thomas P. Hannis, Ass't U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney's Office
230 N. 1st Ave., Rm. 4000, Phoenix AZ 85025
(602) 514-7500

J. Carol Williams, Robert S. Anderson
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000

Counsel for Defendant-Appellant
Bram Jacobson, Ass't Federal Public Defender
Federal Public Defender's Office
320 N. Central Ave., Ste. 200, Phoenix AZ 85004
(602) 379-3561