People v. Levigne

William McNeight and Blaine Levigne, Jr.,1 appeal by leave granted the circuit court’s order affirming their convictions before the district court for unlawfully taking a bear in violation of MCL 324.40118(3). Defendants were charged with a misdemeanor violation of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), MCL 324.101 et seq., for using trained hunting dogs to assist Todd Yoder, a Native American hunter, in capturing and killing a bear out of hunting season. We reverse.

The prosecution argued that defendants unlawfully took a bear outside of the season in which it is…