Honest Mistake: Sheriff Destroys Pot Look-Alike

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A federal appeals court says it will not
hold a former Gulf Coast sheriff liable for an honest mistake in
destroying plants that resembled marijuana but were found to be
deer bait.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a federal judge
in Mississippi who in 2005 threw out property owner Marion
Waltman's lawsuit against then-Harrison County Sheriff George H.
Payne Junior.

Waltman sought damages from Payne for the destruction of 500
kenaf plants grown as deer food on land he leased for a hunting
club.

Payne says it was an honest mistake when he and other law
officers destroyed what they thought were marijuana plants.

A federal judge ruled Payne was acting within his official
capacity and within the scope of discretionary authority.

The 5th Circuit agreed, also saying Payne's search was legal
under the "open fields" doctrine, which allows officers, under
certain circumstances, to seize evidence in plain view without a
warrant.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)