Whaling trial could begin soon - Makah Tribe - Washington

NEAH BAY, Wash. - A new chief judge of the Makah Tribal Court has been hired, which means a trial could begin soon for five men accused of hunting a gray whale without permits.

Makah Chairman Micah McCarty said the new judge will be on the job ''by the end of the month.'' McCarty said he hopes the trial will be held before the defendants go to trial on related charges in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

''It is in our best interests to have our own court decide this before the federal court does,'' McCarty said.

The trial was scheduled to begin in Makah Tribal Court Jan. 22, but was postponed after Makah's contract with its judge was not renewed and another judge recused herself, citing strong feelings about the case.

Meanwhile, the U.S. District Court trial has been moved from March 18 to April 8.

Frankie Gonzales, Wayne Johnson, Andrew Noel, Theron Parker and William Secor Sr., all of Neah Bay, are accused of harpooning and shooting a gray whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Sept. 8, 2007, without tribal permission and without a federal waiver to hunt a whale under the Makah's treaty with the United States.

Makah prosecutors say the hunt violated Makah's marine mammal management plan. The National Marine Fisheries Service says the hunt violated the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.

While the men allegedly committed one offense - hunting a whale without permits - the alleged offense violated different tribal and federal laws and therefore the men can be tried in different courts without violating the double-jeopardy protections in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The men have pleaded innocent.

Conviction in tribal court carries a maximum penalty of a year in tribal jail and a $5,000 fine. Conviction in federal court carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $100,000 fine, but U.S. Attorney's spokesman Emily Langlie said in an earlier interview that federal prosecutors will ''take tribal sanctions into account'' when the case goes to District Court.

The trials may put the spotlight on Makah's treaty rights and historic relationship with gray whales as it does on the alleged incident.

full article
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416649

There's something creepy about that.

It is complicated because the tribe has its own jurisdiction. There are conflicts of interest too, because the tribe does not want to convict their own members even though they broke the law.

People are often tried on state and federal charges.