“Taking” a Deer Still Means “Taking” a Deer

State v. Schmid, Minn.S.Ct., 2/25/2015.  It is a misdemeanor offense to “take” deer without a license. 

A person may not take a deer without a license.

Minn.Stat. 97B.22, subdivision 1. 

“Taking” is a statutorily defined term:

"Taking" means pursuing, shooting, killing, capturing, trapping, snaring, angling, spearing, or netting wild animals, or placing, setting, drawing, or using a net, trap, or other device to take wild animals. Taking includes attempting to take wild animals, and assisting another person in taking wild animals.

A game warden found Mr. Schmid in a deer blind in a deer-hunting area during deer hunting season.  He was dressed in blaze orange clothing.  He was armed with a shotgun loaded with deer slugs.  He was not in possession of a license to hunt deer.  He said that he didn’t need a license because hanging out in a deer blind was not “pursuing” game without a license, which is one of the activities the statute prohibits.

The Court of Appeals said that what Mr. Schmid was doing when the DNA officer wondered by was “taking a deer without a license.”  Read about that here.  The Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Lillihaug that is too, too clever by half concurs.  “Taking” a deer means, well, taking a deer.  

Just why the court decided to devote countless hours to produce an eighteen page opinion is somewhat obscure.  In reaching the same conclusion the court of appeals took us on a history lesson about the meaning of “take.”  It would seem that Justice Lillihaug didn’t care for that approach, instead taking a more traditional statutory construction approach.  If the statue’s not ambiguous then apply the plain meaning of the statutory text.  The justices concluded that the statute is not ambiguous and that its plain meaning sufficiently takes in hanging out in a deer blind.