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James Bronson Jr., a Nez Perce tribal member in Eastern Oregon, was convicted for killing two bighorn sheep in 2007 without tags in Oregon. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld his convictions on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

(AP Photo)

More than eight years after a member of the Nez Perce tribe in eastern Oregon killed two bighorn sheep -- arguing it was his native right -- the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that his criminal convictions shall stand.

Last year, about 22,000 Oregonians vied for 96 tags that would allow them to hunt and kill bighorn sheep. Receiving a tag is such a rarity that it's considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But the defendant in Wednesday's appeals court case -- James Bronson Jr. -- killed not one but two of the animals in 2007. He argued that an 1855 treaty allowed him to hunt the sheep without a tag on land once occupied by the Nez Perce tribe but ceded to the U.S. government.

Bronson lived in Pendleton when he killed the animals, about 18 miles south of historic Nez Perce lands and south of the Powder River in Baker County. He ran into trouble with the law after he met with a taxidermist, who insisted that Bronson take the carcasses to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife for proper tagging and recordkeeping, according to an appeals court summary of the case.

Bronson was charged with four misdemeanor counts of violating state wildlife law.

Bronson argued that although the land he had hunted on wasn't ceded to the U.S. by the tribe in 1855, it was land historically used by his ancestors. As a result, Bronson claimed he was allowed to hunt there without repercussion.

During a June 2011 trial, Bronson's defense attorney called on an anthropologist and a friend who spoke about their beliefs that the Nez Perce had hunted those southern lands.

The prosecution called on a cultural historian who said he scoured available information about the Nez Perce and came to the conclusion that the tribe avoided hunting or otherwise using that area -- in part because of hostile relations with another tribe, the Northern Paiutes.

Baker County Circuit Judge Gregory Baxter found Bronson guilty, and sentenced him to 10 days in jail, a two-year hunting suspension and about $8,000 in fines and restitution.

On appeal, Bronson argued that the judge was wrong to not dismiss the case, because the judge ultimately relied on the wrong conclusion: That the Nez Perce hadn't once used the land where Bronson had hunted the sheep. But the appeals court found that the judge's conclusion was supported by ample evidence.

Bronson also contended that his convictions should be reversed because of lack of speedy trial. But the appeals court ruled that Bronson was prosecuted in a reasonable amount of time given the complexities of the case and the timing of his first trial. He was first brought to trial 11 months after he was charged, but that trial ended in mistrial.

Bronson ultimately was convicted more than 21/2 years after he was charged, in June 2011.

Wednesday's ruling was made by a three-judge panel of the court: Rebecca Duncan, Meagan Flynn and David Schuman.

Read the opinion here.

-- Aimee Green

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