North Dakota Supreme Court rules in unlawful deer killing case

October 20, 2011

North Dakota: The North Dakota Supreme Court has sent the case of William Dethloff, who was convicted of wrongfully slaying deer outside of proper hunting season, back to the lower courts for revision. Dethloff pleaded guilty to eight counts of unlawful taking of big game and nine counts of unlawful possession of big game animals. Dethloff testified that he killed the deer because they were destroying his daughter's feedlot and had eaten thousands of dollars worth of feed, but he was unable to use this defense in court due to the laws regarding out of season hunting. Dethloff was initially ordered by North Dakota South Central Judicial District Judge Bruce B. Haskell to pay a fine of $8,500 and serve four days in jail. The Supreme Court reviewed the case and found that Haskell did not review the testimony provided adequately before making a restitution decision. Dethloff lives on a fixed income and recently lost his home to the flooding that has affected North Dakota. Haskell wrote that "The Court believes that imposing restitution will simply fuel the defendant's position that he is a martyr." Haskell also gave Dethloff 30 days to get his affairs in order before serving his prison term.^[1]

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