GAME LA W ENFORCEMENT 2 1 3 



Another prosecution in Louisiana met with much the 

 same result. In this instance there were two separate cases 

 but the accused were tried together. The first involved 

 eleven ducks, and the second, twelve ducks found in cold 

 storage during the closed season, without any marks to show 

 that they had been taken at any other time than during that 

 season. When the accused were brought before the federal 

 judge at Alexandria, they were convicted but were fined 

 only ten cents each, the Judge remarking with a considerable 

 show of irritation, 



The game wardens are not getting the commercial violators of 

 the game laws, but are reporting minor cases which were com- 

 mitted without malicious intent. 



Federal Police Courts: The solution of the problem of 

 the overcrowding in the district courts lies in the establish- 

 ment of a system of federal police courts able to try mis- 

 demeanors arising out of violations of federal statutes. 

 These could be established by merely increasing the authority 

 of the United States commissioners who are already author- 

 ized to hold preliminary hearings and fix bail. 



If the commissioners were likewise allowed to try all 

 minor infractions of the federal statutes, to accept pleas of 

 guilty, and to fix penalties, the federal district courts would 

 be relieved of most of these petty cases. This plan also 

 offers the advantage of far more speedy trial than can be 

 had in the federal district court in most jurisdictions. 



The Federal District Attorney: In the vast majority of 

 cases brought to their attention the federal district attorneys 

 have cooperated wholeheartedly with the Biological Survey 

 and the Bureau of Fisheries in enforcing the federal con- 

 servation statutes. The conclusion should not be drawn 

 from the single case cited above that politics unfavorable to 



