United States v. Richard C. Sylvester

Sylvester was convicted of violation of 18 U.S.C. § 43 (a)(2), also called the Lacey Act, which prescribes penalties for a person who:

The information in this case alleged that he had violated a regulation of the Alaska Administrative Code (5 AAC 81-200(2)) in that he “wilfully and knowingly did transport and ship, and caused to be transported and shipped, for commercial purposes” the hides and skulls of three brown bears.

Section 81 — 200(2) in part states:

In this case the agreement for the sale, and partial payment, were made in Alaska. But delivery was made in New Mexico, where the remainder of the payment was made. Appellant argues that there was no “sale” in Alaska and thus no violation of Alaska law that would support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 43 . The district judge held that while there was not a “sale” under Alaska’s Uniform Commercial Code provisions, there was nevertheless sufficient sales activity to support the conviction under the federal criminal statute.

In a well-reasoned statement of his decision, the district judge held that “the language of the Lacey Act relates to a situation such as this where the sale is an integral part of the interstate transfer…