Supreme Court won't hear case of N.B. native men convicted of night hunting
The Canadian Press
May 8, 2008
http://www.canadaeast.com/article/290537FREDERICTON - The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from three First Nations men in New Brunswick who were convicted of hunting at night.
The high court dismissed the application Thursday and, as is the custom, did not give a reason.
The decision follows years of legal wrangling that began in 1999 when the three Maliseet men were charged with hunting at night near Little River, N.B.
Richard Polches, Jason Brooks and Jeffrey Polches, all members of the St. Mary's First Nation in Fredericton, insisted they were simply observing animals with a light when two wildlife officers stopped them.
A search of the van turned up a high-powered spotlight, a shotgun, a rifle, and ammunition.
The three were acquitted in provincial court and in Court of Queen's Bench, but the New Brunswick Court of Appeal sided with the Crown in 2006 and convicted them.
The following year, the Supreme Court ordered the Appeal Court to hear the case again because of a 2006 Supreme Court decision that gave First Nations in British Columbia the right to hunt deer at night.
That decision was based on a specific treaty that gave the Tsartlip people of British Columbia the right to hunt using traditional methods, including night hunting.
The Appeal Court reheard the case against the three Maliseet men in light of the B.C. decision, but still found them guilty.
Ron Gaffney, lawyer for the three men, has said his clients could face jail time as a result of the conviction.
**************