Facts
- In 1981, Gail Winnie, a Wisconsin resident, went on a hunting safari in Africa and shot and killed a cheetah.
- The cheetah parts were later imported into the United States.
- Winnie mounted the cheetah’s skin and skull and displayed them on a wall in her basement.
- Winnie kept the mounted cheetah continuously from 1981 until 1992.
- In 1992, federal and state wildlife authorities seized the cheetah parts from Winnie’s home.
- In 1995—about three years after the seizure—the United States charged Winnie by information with a federal misdemeanor for unlawfully possessing a specimen of a species for which trade was prohibited by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as implemented by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. § 1538(c)(1).
- Winnie admitted the period of possession (1981–1992) but moved to dismiss, arguing the prosecution was barred by the five-year statute of limitations in 18 U.S.C. § 3282 because any crime was complete when she first acquired or imported the cheetah.
- The district court denied the motion to dismiss, and Winnie entered a conditional guilty plea that preserved her right to appeal the statute-of-limitations ruling.
Issues
- Whether unlawful possession of a specimen traded in violation of CITES, prohibited by 16 U.S.C. § 1538(c)(1), is a continuing offense.
- If the offense is continuing, whether the five-year limitations period in 18 U.S.C. § 3282 begins to run only when the defendant’s possession ends (here, when the government seized the cheetah in 1992).
Decision
- The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Winnie’s motion to dismiss.
- The court held that unlawful possession under 16 U.S.C. § 1538(c)(1) is a continuing offense that lasts as long as the defendant retains possession of the illegally traded specimen.
- Because Winnie possessed the cheetah until the 1992 seizure and the government charged her in 1995, the prosecution was filed within five years of the end of the offense and was timely under 18 U.S.C. § 3282.
Legal Principles
- Statutes of limitations generally begin to run when a crime is “complete,” but a “continuing offense” continues over time and is not complete until the conduct stops.
- Under Toussie v. United States, an offense is treated as continuing only when (1) the statute’s language requires that result, or (2) the nature of the crime shows Congress meant it to be treated that way.
- Possession crimes commonly qualify as continuing offenses because the prohibited condition—dominion and control over contraband—persists day to day until possession ends.
- For ESA/CITES unlawful possession under 16 U.S.C. § 1538(c)(1), the limitations clock under 18 U.S.C. § 3282 starts when the defendant no longer possesses the specimen, not when the defendant first acquired it.
Conclusion
United States v. Winnie holds that unlawful possession of a CITES-protected specimen, charged under 16 U.S.C. § 1538(c)(1), is a continuing offense. Because the offense continues for as long as the defendant keeps the specimen, the five-year statute of limitations in 18 U.S.C. § 3282 begins only when possession ends; Winnie’s possession ended when wildlife authorities seized the cheetah parts in 1992, making the 1995 prosecution timely.