10th Circuit Hears Arguments In Eagle Feather Protection Challenge

Yesterday the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in United States v. Friday, a criminal prosecution of a member of the Northern Arapaho Indian Tribe for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA). The district court below dismissed charges against Winslow Friday, finding that the government's implementation of the BGEPA violated his free exercise rights. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Casper (WY) Star-Tribune reported that in the appellate court, the government argued that Friday lacked standing to challenge the BGPEA's permit process because he never applied for a permit. Federal public defender John T. Carlson, representing defendant, argued that the Fish and Wildlife Service hid the existence of the permit process. Attacking the BGEPA, he said: "No other religion has a permit system denying it access to its sacred objects."