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6 San Joaquin Agric. L. Rev. 193 (1996)
United States v. Wang-Lin Company: The Kangaroo Rat and Criminal Prosecution under the Endangered Species Act

handle is hein.journals/sjlar6 and id is 195 raw text is: United States v. Wang Lin Company: The Kangaroo Rat and Criminal Prosecution Under the Endangered Species Act INTRODUCTION The case involving Taung Ming-Lin, a Taiwanese immigrant charged with criminal penalties for violating the Endangered Spe- cies Act (ESA),' provides a useful framework within which to ex- amine the issues that arise under prosecution of the Act. Califor- nia has 161 federally defined threatened and endangered species, which necessarily creates a conflict as farmers try to reap the bounty of the state's vast agricultural lands. The case of immigrant Ming-Lin and his corporation, Wang Lin Co., Inc., received a great deal of media attention. Farmers around the country joined in one thought: Could that have been me?2 With questions about ESA regulations and permit ap- plications, and with concerns about their Fifth Amendment rights to just compensation for a taking of property, farmers across America identified with Ming-Lin and championed his cause. The Wang Lin case has contributed more questions than an- swers to the scope of criminal liability under the ESA. Because it was resolved through a plea bargain,3 the case did not add to ex- isting case law, and did not settle questions about how the ESA can and should apply to private property. It did not become a signpost for landowners who sought to avoid government inter- vention while maintaining economically viable use of their land. Even the facts of the case do not provide for clear legal anal- ogy to be used by a landowner seeking to avoid pitfalls in an en- dangered species statute that contains many unknowns. While the defense painted a picture of a poor immigrant farmer blind-sided 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544 (1995). 2 Russell Clemings, Valley Farmers Angry Over Endangered Species Prosecution, FRESNO BEE, Aug. 1, 1994, at Al. 3 Stipulation and Order, United States v. Wang Lin Co., No. 94-5041 (E.D. Cal. May 1, 1995).

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