Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

No jury for whaling trial

|
|
 
  
Published: May 16, 2008 at 1:06 AM

TACOMA, Wash., May 16 (UPI) -- A tribal judge with the Makah Nation in Washington state had to give up prosecuting five men for illegally killing a gray whale because he could not get a jury.

One of the whalers told the Seattle Times the judge questioned 200 potential jurors from Neah Bay, a remote settlement on the Olympic Peninsula. But he was unable to find jurors who were not related to one of the defendants or had already formed an opinion about the case.

The men allegedly killed a gray whale last year that bled to death after being shot and harpooned in the Juan de Fuca Strait. The killing was an embarrassment to the tribe, which has been trying to get permission for a legal whale hunt.

Three of the men pleaded guilty to federal charges, while two were convicted by a judge. The tribe gave up its right of prosecution as part of the plea agreement, but the judge decided to hold a trial anyway.

The judge has granted the five deferred prosecution. Charges will be dropped after a year if they stay out of trouble.

Topics: Juan de Fuca
© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade The making of the Oscars
The Chicago Auto Show The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Tu Bishvat Migron settlement
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 25
Meryl Streep and Colin Firth attend the "BAFTA" ceremony in London
View Caption
fark
There are many layers to the OWS onion, and each one is more difficult than the last to peel back....
Remember that YouTube Dad who shot daughter's laptop? Apparently some of the local city leaders...
America has a long history of being VERY VERY ANGRY. But we get over it
Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs in the hospital
Hugh Hefner's son accused of abusing a woman. Meanwhile, Hef's girlfriends have to see him naked...
Jesus just left Chicago. Photoshop where he's going