State v. Oxendine, 242 N.C. App. 216 (Jul. 7, 2015)

(1) In this hunting without a license case, the trial court did not err by denying defendant Oxendine’s request to instruct the jury on legal justification. The defendant argued that he was exempt under G.S. 113-276 from the requirement of a hunting license because he had been engaged in a Native American religious hunting ceremony. That statute applies to “member[s] of an Indian tribe recognized under Chapter 71A of the General Statutes.” Although the defendant argued that he is “an enrolled member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of the Tuscarora Nation,” he is not a member of a Native American tribe recognized under Chapter 71A. Additionally the defendant did not show that he was hunting on tribal land, as required by the statute. (2) The evidence was sufficient to convict defendant Pedro of hunting without a license. Based on the facts presented, the court rejected the defendant’s argument that the State’s evidence was insufficient to show that he “was preparing to immediately kill a dove.”

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