Case library · The Poacher's Docket
Minnows Across the Line
Hughes v. Oklahoma (1979)
Charge: Illegal transport of minnows out of stateCourt: U.S. Supreme CourtState: OklahomaDocket: The Poacher's Docket
May a state let wild minnows be sold freely at home while forbidding the same fish to be sold across the state line?
The facts
A licensed bait dealer in one state bought minnows from a dealer licensed in the state next door and drove them home to sell. The minnows had been netted from wild water, not raised in a hatchery. That state's law let anyone catch wild minnows and sell them freely inside its borders, but forbade shipping wild-caught minnows out of the state for sale. Hatchery minnows could be shipped out.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Hughes v. Oklahoma, 441 U.S. 322 (1979)
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