United States v. Lennie Ames

MEMORANDUM

Lennie Ames and Jared Fournier appeal their convictions, following a bench trial, for unlawfully maintaining, occupying and using a residence on National Forest System lands in violation of 36 C.F.R. § 261.10 (b). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

1. For the reasons discussed in a concurrently filed opinion in United States v. Backlund, No. 10-30264, and United States v. Everist, No. 10-30289, the United States Forest Service may regulate residential occupancy of bona fide mining claims within the national forests. Mere ownership of an unpatented mining claim does not automatically entitle the owner to reside permanently on National Forest System lands. Section 261.10(b) is consistent with the mining laws and not unconstitutionally vague. Nor is the rule of lenity applicable here.

2. The district court’s grant of the government’s motion in limine, which precluded Ames and Fournier from challenging the Forest Service’s determination that their residences were not reasonably incident to a mining operation, did not violate their due process rights. Like the defendant in Everist, Ames and Fournier were not entitled to judicial review of…