Orr-Hickey v. State

OPINION

COATS, Chief Judge.

Lisa Orr-Hickey was convicted of hunting sheep in a closed area and possessing illegally-taken game (the sheep). 1 She asserts that her jury received flawed instructions concerning the culpable mental state required for these crimes.

In State v. Rice, 2 , the Alaska Supreme Court held that civil negligence is the culpable mental state that governs hunting offenses. That is, the government must prove that the hunter either “kn[e]w or reasonably should [have] know[n]” the circumstances that made the hunter’s conduct illegal. 3 Orr-Hickey’s jury was instructed in…