Cert. Filed In Eagle Protection Act Case

Yesterday's Great Falls (MT) Tribune reports on last month's filing of a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Friday, a case in which the 10th Circuit rejected a challenge under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to the government's enforcement of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. (See prior posting). A petition for en banc rehearing was also rejected. The cert. petition was filed on Oct. 1, and the government was given an extension until Dec. 8 to reply. (Docket Entry.) The Northern Arapaho Tribe plans to file an amicus brief supporting the cert. petition of Winslow Friday who killed a bald eagle for use in a Northern Arapaho Sun Dance. A major issue in the case is the extent to which an appellate court can review de novo "constitutional facts" found by the trial court in a First Amendment case.