* 
6 
STATE. 
If forest officers have State deputy fire warden and game 
warden appointments, they possess under the statutes of 
the State the authority, protection, and privileges of any 
officer of the State of California. All rangers should be 
certain that they have deputy State fire warden and fish 
and game warden appointments. If not, they should 
make request for them through the supervisor. 
Violations of law touching private rights in national 
forest communities are not ordinarily subject to police 
action by forest officers; but such officers have the right of 
any citizen to lay facts before the proper authorities or to 
advise others how to do so. Action in the latter direction, 
however, obviously demands caution and judgment. Ex¬ 
cept in extreme emergency, the case should be reported 
to the assistant to the solicitor for his review. 
i 
ADVICE AND BACKING. 
When in doubt, especially on legal questions, ask for 
advice through the supervisor. However, circumstances 
may sometimes require immediate action, and not permit 
of delay. When a ranger acts on the best judgment at his 
command, his actions and recommendations will be backed 
by the district office. Legal help for conduct of all impor¬ 
tant court cases will be provided on request. 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS AND THEIR 
APPLICATION. 
An investigator can not know what he must prove unless 
he understands what constitutes a crime according to the 
law in respect to the subject in hand. Where more than 
one course is possible, he must be able to advise intelli¬ 
gently which action should be taken. * He should also have 
a reasonable degree of familiarity with what is acceptable 
in court as evidence, how it must be prepared and pre¬ 
sented, and just what he can and can not do in dealing 
with suspects and trespassers. Even though he does not 
conduct the case in court, the investigator will find this 
knowledge useful from his interpretation and use of his 
first clue onward. 
