Yates: Affirming Conviction for Disposing of Undersized Fish

In U.S. v. Yates, No. 11-16093 (August 16, 2013), the Court affirmed the convictions of a commercial fisherman for disposing of and concealing undersized fish to prevent the government from taking lawful custody of them. The Court rejected the argument that there was insufficient evidence to show that the fish were undersized. The Court also rejected the argument that a fish is not a “tangible object” for purposes of the statute. Finally, the Court found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s refusal to allow Yates to call the government’s expert as a witness, pointing out that Yates failed to give pre-trial notice of his intent to call this witness at trial, as required by Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(b)(1)(C).