A federal judge approved a demand for records showing what passengers actually saw or heard aboard a Seattle-to-Maui flight. Prosecutors objected, and the accused visitor’s trial has now been delayed.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
A federal judge approved a demand for records showing what passengers actually saw or heard aboard a Seattle-to-Maui flight. Prosecutors objected, and the accused visitor’s trial has now been delayed.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
What happens if Delta produces records showing no warnings were played? Does that actually change anything about the alleged conduct, or does it simply give the defense something to raise at sentencing? I’m interested in what the judge eventually decides in this case.
I think every visitor should receive wildlife information when flying, booking a rental car or checking into a hotel. That’s where people are making decisions about which beaches to visit. But why leave the responsibility entirely with the airlines?
There is a real difference between knowing an animal is federally protected and knowing it’s simply wrong to hurt an animal. The defense seems focused on the first question. Most of the comments here are reacting to the second.
I don’t understand why this needs to be so complicated. The video exists, witnesses came forward, and the federal government filed charges. I hope the court will hear the evidence and reach a decision soon.
In the past 30 years we’ve seen a tremendous change in the number of people approaching turtles with phones/cameras. The animals often seem to become props for vacation pictures. I wish more people would simply watch from a distance.
The previous monk seal killings also caught my attention. If 15 cases never resulted in convictions, I think it’s reasonable to examine how wildlife laws are being enforced. That doesn’t excuse the rock incident, but equal enforcement should apply to residents and visitors.
I would love to hear how this argument is going to work in court. If I visit Yellowstone and bother a bison, can I blame the airline for not warning me? At some point adults have to take responsibility for their own behavior.
and could you find a lawyer that is soooo ignorant to defend you against the buffallo and the airline??? 🙂
The defense attorneys have a job to do, and that includes examining evidence most people would dismiss. I don’t condone what their client is accused of doing, but I also don’t think a lawyer should be criticized simply for defending him.
We always fly Hawaiian and I appreciate the Travel Pono info. It’s a reminder that we’re visiting a place with wildlife and customs we may not encounter at home. Whether someone pays attention is another question entirely and clearly this person would not have under any circumstances.
How much taxpayer money will be spent on this case before it’s resolved? I hope the eventual outcome justifies these months of seemingly useless legal proceedings.
I support showing wildlife videos on every flight to Hawaii. Not because of this man, but because I’ve watched people approach sleeping monk seals and surround turtles trying to reach shore. A few minutes of education certainly can’t hurt. But this case is in an entirely different league.
What interests me more is that the judge actually approved the subpoena. There must be some legal reasoning behind allowing the defense to obtain these records, even if most of us find the argument simply ridiculous. I’ll be curious to see what Delta actually produces.
I’ve flown to Hawaii more times than I can count and honestly cannot remember whether an airline showed me a wildlife video. I do remember seeing signs at beaches for sure. I’m all for better visitor education, but surely we don’t need an airline to explain that throwing rocks at animals is simply wrong.
I have flown to Hawaii over 20 times … not once did I see some video from the airline to respect wildlife , tame life , human life etc etc. Airlines are Not the keepers of the law.. This freak needs psychiatric help as does his lawyer.
To me this reflects how bad our world has become. I guess an airline flying to Alaska should have a video saying do not touch the bears and one to Africa should say do not throw rocks at lions. If they haven’t then when someone is killed they would be suable. This would be especially true if Air Africa has a video saying do not throw rocks at lions and others did not. I am assuming the judge was on something.
I couldn’t agree with you more. A very sad state. Our children are inheriting a totally screw up world that even George Orwell couldn’t have envisioned. Sad
Unless the state or federal govt require the showing of these warnings, it’s not a duty of the airline to do so. If the warning were required to be shown, then you’d have to have each passenger sign a waiver acknowledging they viewed the warning video. That’s nuts. A video would have to show the information it contained is accurate and complete. It would have to be repeated in multiple languages. Can you imagine the rabbit hole this would create? Is there any state that people drive in to that has warnings about the endangered species living in that state and what cautions visitors need to take? Again, this is nuts.
is everyone that arrives in any state informed of local and federal laws by the airlines.
One has to wonder about the judge. Ignorance is not an allowable defense. Do car manufacturers and dealers need to inform car buyers of laws involving driving the vehicle being purchased? Does the municipality have to inform visitor pedestrians that crossing a street against the electronic signals or outside of crosswalks is a violation? What about throwing garbage from a car window? Can any of us imagine having countless signs posted everywhere regarding every possible infraction? Even if Delta ran a pono piece as nice as the one on Hawaiian, would this defendant have even been watching & listening. Not likely. Throwing anything at an unthreatening living creature is not acceptable and the best thing would have been a stiff fine and a ticket back to where he came from along with residency on a list of individuals banned from Hawaii for life. Major league sports teams do that frequently for those running on or reaching into the field. They even do it to season ticket holders.
I don’t need to be told not to throw rocks at animals. Doesn’t matter if they are endangered or not. You wouldn’t throw a rock at a dog then plead nobody told me I couldn’t do that. Decent people don’t abuse animals.
This dude is not a decent human being. I hope the State of Hawaii makes an example out of him.
This is absurd. When is it OK for a human being to throw a rock at an animal? Unless the human is in danger, this is cruel and uncalled for. I hope the guy loses his case.
ridiculous – there are posted signs and since when did throwing a heavy object such as a rock at any living beings head was ok? Someone is missing common sense.
Wow. I guess the 5+ hours of flight can be filled with obvious warnings! Like don’t drink and drive while on vacation, etc. Seriously, the defense is grasping at straws. The fact he was an absolute disrespectful and inhumane visitor should be enough, let alone the endangered part.
What a waste of time and abuse of our court system.
Ignorance of the law is not a valid defense for breaking the law.
So the argument is he needs a video to tell him not to throw large rocks at wildlife? Interesting legal strategy.
This is why I hate lawyers. They’re essentially saying the moron who threw the rock wasn’t properly told by the airline that it was illegal. Do the airlines also have to advise us that it isn’t legal to kill another human or commit any other crime?
So frustrating that anyone would intentionally hurt an animal, especially any animal that cannot defend themselves, is beyond unconscionable. The lack of insight, responsibility, and humility is striking. Please convict this a$$___.
Airlines should not have to warn passengers on how to behave. Can you imagine how long videos will have to be if it includes warnings about monk seals, hiking up mountains that are too difficult, drinking under the influence etc. We can’t fix stupidity by giving warnings. This guy is a grown man who most likely didn’t listen to the preflight preparations on seat belts and how to put on the floatation device in case of a water landing. The ladder i just bought has so many warning labels that i believe no one ever reads. Again, can’t fix stupid. Lawyers will be lawyers. It’s their job to defend their clients no matter how ridiculous their defense looks.
wow .. so the airline need to tell him not to speed . steal, or kill also….that any lawyer would defend him is an atrocity of legal community.
Only in America will a court actually entertin a lawsuit blaming an airline for not advising a grown adult he should not throw rocks at any another animal on this earth.
This is the reason US car owners manuals give warnings not to drink the battery acid!!!! What state of societal downfall is the US currently embroiled in?
Ignorance of the law is not a defense. Period.
“Ignorantia juris non excusat”
Ignorance of fact though needs to show that a reasonable person would have expected such actions to be regulated. United States v. Freed, 401 U.S. 601 (1971).
Given that endangered wildlife is federally protected across the country such ignorance of fact may well be held questionable. Not legal advice.
Whether Delta announced the warning or not is irrelevant. He had no reason to throw a rock at the seal. If he was scared, then he should have walked away.
I think that anyone who has enough money to visit Hawaii, any amount of common sense, and value for defenseless animals (or people), should know enought inherently Not to throw a rock at anyone or anything alive. Why anyone do that is beyond me.
Was the seal attacking this guy or anyone else? If not, is there ever any acceptable reason to throw a rock at a seal??
Any courtesy warning from the airlines is totally irrelavant and ridiculous. The airlines are not responsible to warn people about simply bad behavior. One does not see warnings about endangering federally protected Bald Eagles on any flights incoming or within the US.
More locals kill seals than anyone else. I’ve been told the Spanish brought them..like 2 seals would survive a trip from God knows where Spaniards would’ve found monk seals. DNA, centuries old skeletal evidence, means nothing to what locals believe. I’ve been told “My grandparents said they never saw them here” …and did Grandma and Grandpa do a lot of traveling ? “They lived and worked when travel was harder than today and mostly stayed on their side of the island”. Hmmm ..hard to argue with locals who revere sharks as ancient relatives and other mammals as the enemy… Only Kapuna who believe a bit in science might change attitudes.
Whether Delta provided a wildlife protection video is irrelevant. You need a video to tell you to be a decent person? Another case of someone who does not want to be held accountable for their actions. As for the low conviction rate, could it be most entered into lea agreements? Or perhaps these negative wildlife encounters have increased so much that they can’t be ignored and need to be prosecuted?
Since when is ignorance of the law any kind of excuse?
I’m sorry, airlines are not responsible for telling people to be compassionate and intelligent about local wildlife. How about instructions to tourists on not being disgustingly inconsiderate. How about videos on why animal cruelty is 100% unacceptable? How about videos on how to be decent human beings??
We always fly Delta into Hawaii and the only mandatory videos I can recall were the airplane safety ones.
A visitor should respect wildlife and never throw rocks at an animal. As a lawyer myself, It sickens me that this defendant is trying to claim that Delta had a duty to warn him against throwing rocks at protected wildlife.