United States v. Hardman

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
PUBLISH
AUG 5 2002
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
TENTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v. No. 99-4210

RAYMOND S. HARDMAN

Defendant - Appellant,

--------------------

In the Matter of JOSELUIS SAENZ,

Claimant - Appellee,

v. No. 00-2166

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Defendant - Appellant.

--------------------

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v. No. 00-4015

SAMUEL RAY WILGUS, JR.,

Defendant - Appellant.
 --------------------

CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY, THE
NEW MEXICO CIVIL LIBERTIES
FOUNDATION, THE COMMISSION
ON SOCIAL ACTION OF
REFORMED JUDAISM, HOPI
TRIBE, and JICARILLA APACHE
NATION,

Amici Curiae.

ON REHEARING EN BANC FROM THE UNITED STATES
DISTRICT COURTS FOR THE DISTRICTS OF
NEW MEXICO AND UTAH
(D. Ct. Nos. 99-CR-166-B, 99-21-M & 2:99-CR-00047W)

Cindy Barton-Coombs, Roosevelt, Utah, for Appellant Hardman.

Peter Schoenburg of Rothstein, Donatelli, Hughes, Dahlstrom, Schoenburg &
Frye, LLP, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Justin Bogan, Eureka, California, with
him on the brief), for Appellee Saenz.

Joseph F. Orifici, Salt Lake City, Utah, for Appellant Wilgus.

Kathryn E. Kovacs, Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Washington,
D.C. (John Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Christopher B. Chaney,
Assistant United States Attorney, Salt Lake City, Utah, Sasha Siemel, Assistant
United States Attorney, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Andrew Mengen, Attorney,
United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., E. Ann Peterson,
Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; and William G.
Myers, III, Solicitor, Benjamin C. Jesup, Attorney, Mary Anne Kenworthy,
Attorney, Janet Spaulding, Attorney, Department of the Interior, Washington,
D.C., with her on the brief), arguing as Appellee for the United States in case
numbers 99-4210 and 00-4015, and arguing as Appellant for the Department of
Interior in case number 00-2166.

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Stuart J. Lark and Gregory S. Baylor, Center for Law and Religious Freedom,
Christian Legal Society, submitted a brief for amicus Christian Legal Society, the
New Mexico Civil Liberties Foundation, and the Commission on Social Action of
Reformed Judaism.

Alfred T. McDonnell and Kevin T. Traskos, Arnold & Porter, Denver, Colorado,
submitted a brief for amicus Hopi Tribe.

Stephen H. Greetham, Nordhaus, Haltom, Taylor, Taradash & Bladh, LLP,
Albuquerque, New Mexico; Wayne H. Bladh and Susan G. Jordan, Nordhaus,
Haltom, Taylor, Taradash, & Bladh, LLP, Santa Fe, New Mexico, submitted a
brief for amicus Jicarilla Tribe.

Before TACHA, Chief Judge, McKAY, SEYMOUR, BALDOCK, EBEL,
KELLY, HENRY, BRISCOE, LUCERO, MURPHY, and HARTZ, Circuit
Judges. *

TACHA, Chief Judge. **

Appellants Raymond S. Hardman and Samuel Ray Wilgus, Jr. were

convicted for unrelated counts of illegally possessing eagle feathers in violation

of sections 703 and 668(a) of Title 16 of the United States Code, respectively.

Appellee Joseluis Saenz had eagle feathers in his possession seized by the Bureau

of Indian Affairs, but was not criminally prosecuted. 1 He made a motion pursuant

*
Judge O’Brien took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
**
The opinion is unanimous with respect to all but parts II.E.1.b and II.F.
Judges MURPHY and BRISCOE do not join those portions of the opinion.
1
Mr. Hardman and Mr. Wilgus are appellants, and Mr. Saenz is an
(continued...)

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to Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(e) for the return of the feathers, and the district court

granted the motion. The cases initially came to three separate panels of this

court. Because of the conflicting panel outcomes and the factual and legal

similarities among the cases, we simultaneously issued and vacated the panel

opinions, and then sua sponte ordered that the cases be reheard en banc. United

States v. Hardman, 260 F.3d 1199 (10th Cir. 2001); see United States v. Wiles,

102 F.3d 1043, 1047 n.*, 1056 (10th Cir. 1996) (hearing issue as an en banc court

before release of the panel decisions). We exercise jurisdiction pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 1291, hold that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act controls all three

cases, REMAND to the district court with respect to Mr. Hardman and Mr.

Wilgus, and AFFIRM with respect to Mr. Saenz.

I. Background

A. Hardman

Mr. Hardman has been a practitioner of a Native American religion for

many years. Although Mr. Hardman is not of Native American descent, his ex-

wife and two children are enrolled members of the S’Kallum Tribe, a federally

recognized tribe located in Washington State. Mr. Hardman resides within the

boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Neola, Utah.

1
(...continued)
appellee. For the sake of brevity we will refer to these three individuals
collectively as “claimants.”

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 In 1993, when Mr. Hardman was still married to and living with his ex-

wife, his son’s godfather died. Mr. Hardman transported the body to Arizona so

that appropriate religious services could be performed. As a part of the religious

cleansing ritual, a Hopi tribal religious leader gave Mr. Hardman a bundle of

prayer feathers – which included golden eagle feathers – to be kept in the truck

that he had used to transport the body. Mr. Hardman claims that the feathers

“hold a special prayer for me, my family, and the automobile they were in.” After

returning to his home, Mr. Hardman contacted the Utah Division of Wildlife

Resources in order to obtain a permit to possess the feathers. He was informed,

however, that he would not be allowed to apply because he was not a member of a

federally recognized tribe.

Several years later, after Mr. Hardman and his wife separated, Mr.

Hardman’s estranged wife informed Ute tribal officers that he possessed golden

eagle feathers without a permit. On September 24, 1996, Ute tribal fish and game

officer Cleveland Murray went to Mr. Hardman’s home and demanded the

surrender of the eagle feathers. 2 Under protest, Mr. Hardman surrendered the

eagle feathers, which were hanging from the rear view mirror of his truck.

On March 10, 1997, Mr. Hardman was issued a federal violation notice for

2
In addition to being a tribal officer, Officer Murray was a cross-
commissioned federal conservation officer acting under the authority of the U.S.
Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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possessing golden eagle feathers without a permit in violation of the Migratory

Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”), 16 U.S.C. § 703. Mr. Hardman was not charged with

a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (“BGEPA”). On

February 25, 1999, a bench trial was held before a magistrate judge. The court

found Mr. Hardman guilty of violating the MBTA, sentenced him to pay a small

fine, and placed him on two years’ bench probation. Mr. Hardman appealed to

the district court, which affirmed his conviction.

Mr. Hardman then appealed to this court. Mr. Hardman argued that he had

been prosecuted in a selective and discriminatory manner that violated his equal

protection rights, and that the citing officer was acting outside the scope of his

authority when he demanded that Mr. Hardman surrender the eagle feathers. Mr.

Hardman also argued that the regulations violated his free exercise rights and ran

afoul of the Establishment Clause. In oral argument before the en banc court,

however, he waived the Establishment Clause issue. While Mr. Hardman argued

in his motion to dismiss before the magistrate judge that the regulations violated

the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), he did not argue this on appeal

to the district court or to this court. A divided panel of this court affirmed his

conviction.

B. Wilgus

Like Mr. Hardman, Mr. Wilgus is not of Native American descent and is

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not a member of any federally recognized tribe, although he practices a Native

American religion. 3 Mr. Wilgus resides in Layton, Utah.

In June 1998, a Utah Highway Patrol Officer pulled over a speeding Mazda

pick-up truck in which Mr. Wilgus was a passenger. After arresting the driver for

driving on a suspended license, the officer searched the truck and discovered 137

bald and golden eagle feathers that belonged to Mr. Wilgus. 4 Mr. Wilgus’s wife

later produced an additional four bald and golden eagle feathers. Mr. Wilgus

admits that he knowingly possessed all 141 eagle feathers and did not have a

permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorizing possession of the

feathers.

In February 1999, the Government charged Mr. Wilgus with two counts of

possessing bald and golden eagle feathers without a permit in violation of the

BGEPA, 16 U.S.C. § 668(a). Mr. Wilgus entered a conditional plea of guilty,

subject to resolution of his constitutional claims. He received a small fine and

twelve months’ probation. Mr. Wilgus then appealed to this court, citing the Free

Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause as grounds for appeal. In oral

argument before the en banc court, however, he waived the Establishment Clause

3
Mr. Wilgus claims that he is an adopted member of the Paiute Tribe of
Utah. Mr. Wilgus concedes, however, that Paiute tribal law does not recognize
adopted non-Indians as members of the tribe.
4
It appears that Mr. Wilgus received his feathers as gifts on a number of
occasions from various Native Americans.

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issue. While Mr. Wilgus raised RFRA in his motion to dismiss, the district court

dismissed this claim in light of City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507, 519

(1997) (holding that RFRA was not a valid exercise of Congress’s Enforcement

Clause powers). He did not appeal this issue. A divided panel of this court

affirmed his conviction.

C. Saenz

Joseluis Saenz is a lineal descendant of the Chiricahua Apache. Chiricahua

have been included as members of other, federally recognized Apache tribes, and

there was once a Chiricahua Reservation. Since at least 1886, however, the

Chiricahua have not been a federally recognized tribe.

Mr. Saenz follows the beliefs and traditions of the Chiricahua Apache

religion. Eagle feathers are an integral part of his religious practices. In 1996,

while New Mexico state officials were executing a search warrant at Mr. Saenz’s

home as part of an investigation unrelated to this case, the officers noticed items

with eagle feathers hanging on the walls. Mr. Saenz had obtained these feathers

as gifts in connection with various ceremonies. After contacting the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service and determining that Mr. Saenz did not have a permit for the

feathers, the officers seized the items and sent them to the Fish and Wildlife

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Service office in Albuquerque. 5 In March 1997, the government brought criminal

charges against Mr. Saenz under the BGEPA, 16 U.S.C. § 668(a), but the charges

were dismissed on the government’s motion in July 1997. After attempting to

retrieve his feathers through administrative proceedings, 6 Mr. Saenz filed a

motion in federal district court under Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(e) for the return of

property seized by a search warrant. Mr. Saenz initially brought his claims under

the BGEPA and RFRA, the Free Exercise Clause, and the Equal Protection

Clause. The government moved to have the 41(e) motion treated as a civil

complaint, but the district court denied the government’s motion. The district

court granted Mr. Saenz’s motion and ordered the return of the feathers. The

court did not consider the constitutional grounds, and based its decision entirely

upon the BGEPA and RFRA. The United States appealed, arguing that the

district court’s analysis under RFRA was erroneous. The United States also

argued on appeal that the district court failed to give deference to the Secretary of

5
The items seized included three eagle feathers, one staff with an eagle
foot and seven eagle feathers, one eagle feather with a beaded shaft, one shield
with horsehair and four eagle feathers, one fan with twelve eagle feathers, six
eagle feathers tied together with rawhide, one small dream catcher with four
generic bird “fluffies,” one quiver and four arrows with one eagle feather and
twelve raptor feathers, one bustle with ninety-four eagle feathers and ten
“fluffies,” and a framed print with one eagle feather.
6
The United States admits that the only requirement for a permit that Mr.
Saenz cannot fulfill is the requirement that the applicant must be a member of a
federally recognized tribe.

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the Interior’s interpretation of the BGEPA’s exception for “Indian tribes,” as

required by Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. National Resources Defense Council, Inc.,

467 U.S. 837 (1984). 7 A panel of this court found for Mr. Saenz under RFRA,

and affirmed.

We now consider the parties’ arguments en banc.

II. Discussion

A. Standard of Review

We review questions of law de novo. United States v. Smart, 278 F.3d

1168, 1172 (10th Cir. 2002). We review a district court’s factual determinations

for clear error. United States v. Callarman, 273 F.3d 1284, 1287 (10th Cir. 2001).

We review the grant of a Rule 41(e) motion for an abuse of discretion.

United States v. Grover, 119 F.3d 850, 851 (10th Cir. 1997). Under this standard

we do not defer to the district court’s legal conclusions. Koon v. United States,

518 U.S. 81, 100 (1996) (“A district court by definition abuses its discretion when

it makes an error of law. . . . The abuse-of-discretion standard includes review to

determine that the discretion was not guided by erroneous legal conclusions.”).

B. Standing

Before reaching the merits, we must first consider whether claimants have

7
Because we conclude that the district court correctly concluded that the
regulations as applied to Mr. Saenz violate RFRA, we do not reach this latter
question.

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standing to bring suit in federal court. The government asserts that none of the

claimants has standing because they never actually applied for permits. 8 Several

courts have addressed this question, finding that, where an individual never

actually applied for a permit, he cannot thereafter complain that the permitting

process harmed his constitutional rights. E.g., United States v. Hugs, 109 F.3d

1375, 1378 (9th Cir. 1997) (per curiam); United States v. Lundquist, 932 F. Supp.

1237, 1242 n.5 (D. Or. 1996). When, however, it would have been futile for a

claimant to apply for a benefit, courts have not denied the claimant standing

because of his failure to apply. Jackson-Bey v. Hanslmaier, 115 F.3d 1093, 1096

(2d Cir. 1997) (“Th[e] threshold requirement for standing may be excused only

where a plaintiff makes a substantial showing that application for the benefit . . .

would have been futile.”) (but denying standing because facts did not show

futility) (citing Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 363-67

(1977)); see also, e.g., Ellison v. Connor, 153 F.3d 247, 255 (5th Cir. 1998)

(finding standing where claimants had not applied for a permit to build, but had

been told previously that no construction of any structure would be permitted on

their land); Desert Outdoor Adver., Inc. v. City of Moreno Valley, 103 F.3d 814,

8
Mr. Hardman did actually apply for a permit after Officer Murray seized
the feathers. Such a post hoc application is not sufficient to establish standing,
however. Mr. Wilgus asserted in his brief on appeal that he had applied for a
permit, but he provided no evidence of his application. Mr. Saenz does not
contest that he never applied for a permit.

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818 (9th Cir. 1996) (claimants had standing to challenge permitting process for

signs, because City had previously sued for removal of signs, and because

ordinance “flatly prohibited” signs). The government acknowledges that each

claimant would have been denied a permit based on his failure to fulfill the

requirement of membership in a federally recognized tribe. 9 Indeed, the

application itself requires certification of membership. Because it would have

been futile for these individuals to apply for permits, we find that they have

standing to challenge the statutory and regulatory scheme.

C. The Statutory Protection of Bald and Golden Eagles

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) and the Bald and Golden Eagle

Protection Act are two of our nation’s oldest conservation statutes. Congress

enacted these statutes against the background of the Migratory Bird Treaties. 10

9
In fact, Mr. Hardman made a good faith effort to apply, and he was
rebuffed in exactly the same manner he would have been had he actually applied.
10
The Migratory Bird Treaty was initially signed by the United States and
Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) in 1916, and the United States has since
concluded similar treaties with Mexico (1936), Japan (1972), and the former
Soviet Union (1976). Larry Martin Corcoran & Elinor Colbourn, Shocked,
Crushed and Poisoned: Criminal Enforcement in Non-Hunting Cases Under the
Migratory Bird Treaties, 77 Denv. U. L. Rev. 359, 361 (1999). While the treaty
initially listed only the economic benefits of protecting the birds as its purposes,
later protocols included sport, aesthetic, scientific, and cultural purposes. See id.
at 362; see also Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416, 435 (1920) (describing the
need to protect birds as food sources and to consume insect pests). The
convention with Great Britain provides that “as an effective means of preserving
migratory birds there shall be established . . . close seasons during which no
(continued...)

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 To fulfill the obligations of these treaties, Congress enacted the Migratory

Bird Treaty Act, which provides that “it shall be unlawful . . . to . . . possess [or]

purchase . . . any migratory bird, any part, nest, or egg of any such bird, or any

product . . . which consists . . . of any such bird or any part, nest, or egg thereof.”

16 U.S.C. § 703. Section 704 of the Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior

to promulgate necessary regulations to allow hunting or possession of migratory

birds “in order to carry out the purposes of the conventions.” Section 707

provides for fines of up to $15,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months for

10
(...continued)
hunting shall be done except for scientific or propagating purposes under permits
issued by proper authorities.” Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds,
Aug. 16, 1936, U.S.-Gr. Brit., art. II, 39 Stat. 1702, 1703. The treaty with Mexico
requires the protection of migratory birds by means “which will permit, in so far
as the respective high contracting parties may see fit, the utilization of said birds
rationally for purposes of sport, food, commerce and industry.” Convention for
the protection of migratory birds and game mammals, Feb. 7, 1936, U.S.-Mex.,
art. I, 50 Stat. 1311, 1312. Article II of that treaty provides, inter alia, for the
establishment of seasons when the taking of migratory birds is not permitted, and
a limitation of hunting seasons to four months. Id., art. II, 50 Stat. at 1312. The
convention with the Soviet Union provides: “Each Contracting Party shall
prohibit the taking of migratory birds . . . [S]ale, purchase or exchange of these
birds, whether dead or alive, or their nests or eggs, and any sale, purchase or
exchange of their products or parts, shall be prohibited.” Convention Concerning
the Conservation of Migratory Birds and Their Environment, Nov. 19, 1976, U.S.-
U.S.S.R., art. II(1), 29 U.S.T. 4647. The treaties with Mexico and the former
Soviet Union cover bald and golden eagles, while the treaty with Great Britain
(Canada) apparently does not. Agreement Supplementing the Agreement of
February 7, 1936, Mar. 10, 1972, U.S.-Mex., 23 U.S.T. 260, 260; U.S.-U.S.S.R.
Treaty, app., 29 U.S.T. at 4661; U.S.-Gr. Brit. Treaty, art. I, 39 Stat. at 1702-
1703; Protocol Amending the 1916 Convention for the Protection of Migratory
Birds, Dec. 5, 1995, U.S.-Can., art. I, S. Treaty Doc. 104-28 (1996).

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violations of the MBTA, the conventions, or the regulations.

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act makes clear in its enacting

clause that its purpose is to protect the bald eagle from extinction. Bald Eagle

Protection Act, ch. 278, 54 Stat. 250 (1940) (codified as amended at 16 U.S.C. §§

668-668d); see also Andrus v. Allard, 444 U.S. 51, 52-53 (1979) (noting that the

BGEPA and the MBTA are “designed to prevent the destruction of certain species

of birds”). While the original 1940 Act only protected the bald eagle, it was

extended in 1962 to protect golden eagles, which are easily confused with bald

eagles, and to allow Indians to use eagle parts in religious ceremonies. Matthew

Perkins, The Federal Indian Trust Doctrine and the Bald and Golden Eagle

Protection Act: Could Application of the Doctrine Alter the Outcome in U.S. v.

Hugs?, 30 Envtl. L. 701, 705 (2000). The text of the Act provides that

“[w]hoever, without being permitted to do so . . . shall knowingly . . . take,

possess, sell, [or] purchase . . . any bald eagle commonly known as the American

eagle, or any golden eagle . . . or any part, nest, or egg thereof . . . shall be fined

not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year or both.” 16 U.S.C. §

668. Section 668a grants the Secretary of the Interior a broader permitting power

than does the MBTA. The Secretary may authorize permits – so long as they are

compatible with the preservation of the eagles – for public museums, scientific

societies, zoos, Indian religious uses, wildlife protection, and agricultural

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protection. The Secretary may also permit the taking of golden eagle nests that

interfere with resource development.

The two acts share regulations. Under these regulations, eagles are

migratory birds covered by the treaties. 50 C.F.R. § 10.13. An individual may

not possess or transport bald or golden eagle parts, nests, or eggs, unless a permit

is obtained from the Federal government. Id. § 22.11. 11 Rather, dead eagle parts

and feathers are sent to the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City,

Colorado. The Repository receives eagles and eagle parts and distributes them to

permit holders on a first-come first-served basis. 12 Demand exceeds supply,

however, and, according to a Fish and Wildlife Service official who testified in

Mr. Saenz’s case, successful permit applicants wait three years for an eagle

carcass and six to nine months for loose feathers.

The Secretary of the Interior may grant permits to “members of Indian

entities recognized and eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau

of Indian Affairs . . . engaged in religious activities . . . .” Id. § 22.22. A permit

is not automatically issued if these criteria are met, however, as the government

will still consider the effect that the permit would have upon the wild populations

11
Permits are not required, however, for bald eagle parts, nests, or eggs that
were acquired prior to June 8, 1940, or for golden eagle parts, nests, or eggs that
were acquired prior to October 24, 1962. 50 C.F.R. § 22.2.
12
Exceptions are made for death ceremonies and other emergencies that
require parts immediately.

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of bald or golden eagles and whether the applicant is participating in bona fide

tribal religious ceremonies. Id. § 22.22(c)(1)-(2). The regulations also create

permit exemptions for scientific and exhibition purposes, id. § 22.21, for eagles

that prey upon livestock or damage agriculture, id. § 22.23, and for falconry

purposes, id. § 22.24. The regulations further indicate that eagles or eagle parts

possessed under such a permit may not be transferred, except to be handed down

from generation to generation or from Indian to Indian in accordance with tribal

or religious custom. Id. § 22.22(b)(1).

D. Sua Sponte Consideration of RFRA

Having examined the scope of the BGEPA and the MBTA, we must next

consider whether to apply RFRA to Mr. Hardman and Mr. Wilgus, who did not

preserve this issue for appeal. “The matter of what questions may be taken up

and resolved for the first time on appeal is one left primarily to the discretion of

the courts of appeals, to be exercised on the facts of individual cases.” Singleton

v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 121 (1976). However, the general rule is that this court

will not exercise that power, and will not consider issues not raised by the parties

on appeal. Lyons v. Jefferson Bank & Trust, 994 F.2d 716, 720 (10th Cir. 1993)

(citing Singleton, 428 U.S. at 120). The overriding rationale for this policy is that

it is “essential in order that parties may have the opportunity to offer all the

evidence that they believe relevant to the issues . . . [and] in order that litigants

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may not be surprised on appeal by final decision there of issues upon which they

have had no opportunity to introduce evidence.” Trierweiler v. Croxton & Trench

Holding Corp., 90 F.3d 1523, 1538-39 (10th Cir. 1996) (quoting Singleton, 428

U.S. at 120).

Our cases have also made clear, however, that “in some circumstances,

resolution of issues not raised below is justified.” Id. at 1538. Assuming that the

constitutional requirement of a “case and controversy” would still be met by

considering the issue, 13 the rule is prudential, and “a court may consider an issue

‘antecedent to . . . and ultimately dispositive of’ the dispute before it, even an

issue the parties fail to identify and brief.” United Nat’l Bank v. Indep. Ins.

Agents, 508 U.S. 439, 447 (1993) (citing Arcadia v. Ohio Power Co., 498 U.S.

73, 77 (1990)). 14 In light of these concerns, we consider whether to apply RFRA

to Mr. Hardman’s and Mr. Wilgus’s cases.

We conclude that the unique procedural posture of this case makes sua

sponte consideration of RFRA appropriate. The order of this court mandating that

the cases be reheard en banc requested that all parties brief the RFRA issue –

13
No party disputes that this requirement is satisfied here.
14
While the Court in Singleton v. Wulff identified situations where
“injustice might otherwise result” and where “the proper resolution is beyond any
doubt” as situations where sua sponte consideration of issue not briefed was
appropriate, it also made clear that those scenarios were not exhaustive. 428 U.S.
at 121 & n.8.

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including whether the court should consider RFRA in Mr. Hardman’s and Mr.

Wilgus’s cases at all. The RFRA issue was raised in all three trial courts, and

was briefed and argued by the United States before the Saenz panel of this court.

All parties were thus put on notice that the RFRA issue would be raised, and all

had an opportunity to brief the issue. Therefore, “[i]t would not satisfy any policy

behind the rule to turn our back on this significant question.” Anixter v. Home-

Stake Prod. Co., 77 F.3d 1215, 1229 (10th Cir. 1996) (finding that where the

issue was raised in a reply brief in the district court, where both parties had

briefed the issue on appeal, and where judicial resources would be conserved by

considering the issue sua sponte, that such action was warranted).

Moreover, several other concerns weigh in favor of considering the issue.

It is well-established that “the proper administration of the criminal law cannot be

left merely to the stipulation of parties.” Young v. United States, 315 U.S. 257,

259 (1942); see also DeRoo v. United States, 223 F.3d 919, 926 (8th Cir. 2000)

(“Although [defendant] has not raised this issue, appellate courts can examine a

critical issue affecting substantial rights sua sponte in criminal cases under

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(b).”). Both Mr. Hardman’s and Mr.

Wilgus’s cases are criminal in nature. In addition, it is well-settled that federal

courts should avoid deciding constitutional issues when statutory issues are

dispositive. Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 112 (1998)

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(Stevens, J., concurring) (citing Ashwander v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 297 U.S. 288,

346 (1936) (Brandeis, J., concurring)); Jean v. Nelson, 472 U.S. 846, 854 (1985)

(“Prior to reaching any constitutional questions, federal courts must consider

nonconstitutional grounds for decision.”). Deciding this case on RFRA grounds

allows us to avoid the First Amendment issue.

The holding here is extremely narrow. We consider this issue sua sponte

only because all parties were put on notice by the en banc order, and then only

because the adversely affected party – the United States – had an opportunity to

develop a factual record in the district court in one of the consolidated cases.

Thus, the prudential concerns that normally weigh against sua sponte

consideration are not present here. Moreover, the fact that the cases are criminal

in nature and present a statutory question that allows us to avoid complex

constitutional issues adds prudential concerns in support of considering the RFRA

issue. In these somewhat unique circumstances, we exercise our discretion, and

consider the RFRA issue. 15

15
Because we decide to address the RFRA issue on these grounds, we do
not consider whether courts must necessarily apply RFRA in all cases involving
Free Exercise claims. Compare Diaz v. Collins, 114 F.3d 69, 71 & n.7 (5th Cir.
1997) (holding that RFRA applies in Free Exercise cases whether it is raised by
the parties or not), with First Assembly of God of Naples, Florida, Inc. v. Collier
County, 27 F.3d 526, 526 (11th Cir. 1994) (per curiam) (declining to apply RFRA
when it was not raised by a party), denying reh’g in 20 F.3d 419 (11th Cir. 1994).
We have previously indicated that RFRA applies to all First Amendment
(continued...)

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E. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993

Congress enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act against the

background of Free Exercise Clause law. The “religion clauses” of the First

Amendment provide that “Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” U.S. Const.

amend. I. In Sherbert v. Verner, the Court determined that “any incidental burden

on the free exercise of appellant’s religion [must] be justified by a ‘compelling

state interest in the regulation of a subject within the State’s constitutional power

to regulate.’” 374 U.S. 398, 403 (1963) (quoting NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S.

415, 438 (1963)). 16 Although the precise language of the test has changed

somewhat, the essence of the inquiry remained the same throughout the 1970’s

15
(...continued)
claims even when it was not raised by the parties. Werner v. McCotter, 49 F.3d
1476 (10th Cir. 1995). However, in Werner, decided prior to City of Boerne, we
were laboring under the false understanding that RFRA “legislatively overturned
a number of recent Supreme Court [free exercise] decisions” and that it created a
new rule of constitutional law. Id. at 1479. Thus, we concluded that because the
language of RFRA made it applicable to “all cases where free exercise of religion
is substantially burdened,” 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb(b)(1), its standard ought to control
a Free Exercise Clause claim even when not raised. Id. Because the Supreme
Court has made clear that the Werner court’s assumptions about RFRA were
faulty, its rationale is no longer convincing.
16
The Supreme Court has offered an alternate explanation for Sherbert in
Employment Div. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990). Under this interpretation,
Sherbert and its progeny “stand for the proposition that where the State has in
place a system of individual exemptions, it may not refuse to extend that system
to cases of ‘religious hardship’ without a compelling reason.” Smith, 494 U.S. at
884.

-20-
and 80’s: The state must demonstrate that the law in question is narrowly tailored

to achieve a compelling government interest. Hernandez v. Comm’r, 490 U.S.

680, 699 (1989) (“The free exercise inquiry asks whether government has placed

a substantial burden on the observation of a central religious belief or practice

and, if so, whether a compelling governmental interest justifies the burden.”);

Thomas v. Review Bd., 450 U.S. 707, 718 (1981) (“The state may justify an

inroad on religious liberty by showing that it is the least restrictive means of

achieving some compelling state interest.”); Gillette v. United States, 401 U.S.

437, 462 (1971) (“The incidental burdens felt by persons in petitioners’ position

are strictly justified by substantial governmental interests that relate directly to

the very impacts questioned.”).

A series of cases in the late 1980s, however, indicated a shift in Free

Exercise Clause jurisprudence. In these cases, the Supreme Court refused to

apply strict scrutiny to free exercise challenges to prison regulations, internal

government activities, and military regulations. See O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz,

482 U.S. 342, 348-50 (1987) (prison regulations); Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693,

707-08 (1986) (internal government activities); Goldman v. Weinberger, 475 U.S.

503, 507-08 (1986) (military regulations). Instead, the Court used a rational basis

test to evaluate these government actions, despite their clear impact on the free

exercise of religion. The trend culminated in the rule announced in Employment

-21-
Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990). There, practitioners of a Native

American religion asked the Court to apply strict scrutiny to a statute restricting

the use of peyote. Not only did the Court refuse to create the accommodation, it

ruled that “the right of free exercise [of religion] does not relieve an individual of

the obligation to comply with a ‘valid and neutral law of general applicability,’”

Smith, 494 U.S. at 879 (quoting United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252, 263 n.3

(1982) (Stevens, J., concurring)), and that such a law need not be justified by a

compelling interest even where religious practice is substantially burdened, id. at

888-89. In effect, Smith creates a “safe harbor” – if the law is “a valid and

neutral law of general applicability,” then it must simply be rationally related to a

legitimate government end.

In response to the Court’s decision in Smith, Congress passed the Religious

Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. S. Rep. 103-111, 1993 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1892,

1893 (“[T]he Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993[] responds to the

Supreme Court’s decision in Employment Division, Department of Human

Resources of Oregon v. Smith by creating a statutory prohibition against

government action substantially burdening the exercise of religion.”). RFRA

states: “Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion

even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except as provided

in subsection (b) of this section.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(a). Subsection (b)

-22-
provides that “[g]overnment may substantially burden a person’s exercise of

religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person – (1)

is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least

restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.” Id. §

2000bb-1(b).

The Supreme Court, in City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997), held

that Congress lacked authority to enact such a law through the Enforcement

Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, thus making RFRA inapplicable to actions

against the states. After City of Boerne, however, it remained an open question

whether RFRA created an extra-constitutional statutory claim against the federal

government, justified through its Article I, section 8 “necessary and proper”

powers. We recently answered that question in the affirmative. Kikumura v.

Hurley, 242 F.3d 950, 959 (10th Cir. 2001) (“[T]he separation of powers concerns

expressed in Flores do not render RFRA unconstitutional as applied to the federal

government.”). Because claimants challenge federal law, it is appropriate to

consider RFRA, even in light of City of Boerne.

Here, the government does not dispute that claimants’ beliefs are sincerely

held or that the regulations represent a substantial burden upon claimants’

religious beliefs. The eagle feather is sacred in many Native American religions,

-23-
including claimants’. 17 Any scheme that limits their access to eagle feathers

therefore must be seen as having a substantial effect on the exercise of religious

belief. United States v. Thirty-Eight Golden Eagles, 649 F. Supp. 269, 276 (D.

Nev. 1986), aff’d 829 F.2d 41 (9th Cir. 1987). Given this, we next consider

whether the regulations governing the BGEPA and MBTA: (1) advance a

compelling government interest; and (2) are the least restrictive means of

furthering that interest.

1. Compelling Interests

Whether something qualifies as a compelling interest is a question of law.

Citizens Concerned About Our Children v. School Bd., 193 F.3d 1285, 1292 (11th

Cir. 1999); Concrete Works of Colo., Inc. v. City and County of Denver, 36 F.3d

1513, 1522 (10th Cir. 1994). There is, however, little guidance from the Supreme

Court in determining what qualifies as a compelling interest. In Wisconsin v.

Yoder, the Court defined a compelling interest as “only those interests of the

17
We acknowledge that Native American religions are rich in variety, and
that lumping any particular belief system under the term “Native American”
religion is somewhat akin to lumping all the sects of Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam together under the term “Western” religions. We acknowledge that not all
Native American tribes believe that the eagle feather is sacred. Freddie
Kaydahzinne, a member of the Mescalero Apache, testified at Mr. Saenz’s hearing
that turkey feathers are sacred to the Pueblo, water birds to some of the Oklahoma
tribes, caribou to others, etc. We do not belittle this diversity. For the sake of
simplicity only we refer to those Native American religions that hold the eagle
feather as sacred under a collective “Native American religions.”

-24-
highest order.” 406 U.S. 205, 215 (1972) (“[O]nly those interests of the highest

order and not otherwise served can overbalance legitimate claims to the free

exercise of religion.”). In Sherbert v. Verner, the Court stated that “[o]nly the

gravest abuses, endangering paramount interest, give occasion for permissible

limitation.” 374 U.S. 398, 406 (1963) (quoting Thomas v. Collins, 323 U.S. 516,

530 (1945)). Examples of compelling interests include maintaining the tax

system, Hernandez v. Comm’r, 490 U.S. 680, 699 (1989), enforcing participation

in the social security system, United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252, 258-59 (1982),

and protecting children’s welfare, Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166-67

(1944). We have held, however, that a desire for federal funds is not a

compelling interest, Church on the Rock v. City of Albuquerque, 84 F.3d 1273,

1280 (10th Cir. 1996), while the Eighth Circuit has held that the interests

advanced by the bankruptcy system are not compelling. In re Young (Christians

v. Crystal Evangelical Free Church), 82 F.3d 1407, 1420 (8th Cir. 1996).

Given these broad contours, we consider the interests that the United States

argues are compelling: (a) protecting eagles and (b) preserving Native American

culture and religion and pursuing the federal government’s trust obligations to

Native American tribes.

a. Protecting Eagles

There is dicta from the Supreme Court indicating that the protection of

-25-
migratory birds might qualify as a compelling interest. Missouri v. Holland,

252 U.S. 416, 435 (1920) (referring to the protection of migratory birds as “a

national interest of very nearly the first magnitude.”). We cannot ignore that the

migratory bird in question here is the symbol of our nation, heightening the

government’s interest in keeping the species viable. 18 Moreover, most other

courts that have addressed this issue have agreed that the preservation of eagle

species represents a compelling interest. United States v. Oliver, 255 F.3d 588,

589 (8th Cir. 2001); United States v. Hugs, 109 F.3d 1375, 1378 (9th Cir. 1997)

(per curiam); Gibson v. Babbitt, 72 F. Supp. 2d 1356, 1360 (S.D. Fla. 1999),

aff’d, 223 F.3d 1256 (11th Cir. 2000).

Claimants assert that the increased number of bald and golden eagles

undercuts the compelling nature of the government’s interest. This view finds

some limited support in the case law. United States v. Abeyta, 632 F. Supp. 1301,

1307 (D.N.M. 1986) (finding that the record did not support a compelling interest

in golden eagle preservation); cf. Horen v. Commonwealth, 479 S.E.2d 553, 559-

560 (Va. App. 1997) (finding that, because the state had not shown that owls were

18
The prohibition on hunting golden eagles is intrinsically related to the
prohibition on hunting bald eagles. It is difficult to distinguish between golden
and bald eagles under three years of age. United States v. Lundquist, 932 F.
Supp. 1237, 1241 (D. Ore. 1996). In order to prevent accidental shooting, and
because golden eagles were also in decline, Congress banned the hunting of both
bird species.

-26-
endangered, there was no compelling interest in their preservation). We disagree.

The bald eagle would remain our national symbol whether there were 100 eagles

or 100,000 eagles. The government’s interest in preserving the species remains

compelling in either situation. What might change depending on the number of

birds existing is the scope of a program that we would accept as being narrowly

tailored as the least restrictive means of achieving its interest. Thus, we agree

that the government’s interest in preserving eagle populations is compelling.

b. Protecting Native American Culture/Treaty Obligations

The government also asserts a compelling interest in preserving Native

American culture and religion. The government is correct that it has a

longstanding obligation to preserve Native American cultures. Along with

Congress’s power to “regulate Commerce . . . with the Indian Tribes” comes an

obligation of trust to protect the rights and interests of federally recognized tribes

and to promote their self-determination. Morton v. Mancari, 417 U.S. 535, 552

(1974) (quoting U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3); see also Worcester v. Georgia, 31

U.S. (6 Pet.) 515, 557 (1832); Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1, 16

(1831). Thus, we have little trouble finding a compelling interest in protecting

Indian cultures from extinction, growing from government’s “historical obligation

to respect Native American sovereignty and to protect Native American culture.”

Rupert v. Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., 957 F.2d 32, 35 (1st Cir. 1992);

-27-
see also Peyote Way Church of God, Inc. v. Thornburgh, 922 F.2d 1210, 1216

(5th Cir. 1991) (noting that preservation of Indian culture is “fundamental to the

federal government’s trust relationship with tribal Native Americans”).

In a closely related argument, the government urges that the “unique

guardian-ward relationship between the federal government and Native American

tribes” allows the permitting scheme to avoid strict scrutiny altogether. It is true

that, based on this trust relationship, Congress possesses an “extraordinarily

broad” power to legislate with respect to Indian tribes, Santa Clara Pueblo v.

Martinez, 436 U.S. 49, 72 (1978), and categories respecting Native Americans are

sometimes political, rather than religious or racial distinctions, United States v.

Antelope, 430 U.S. 641, 645-46 (1977). As a result, laws that “might otherwise

be constitutionally offensive” might be acceptable if they are enacted pursuant to

the United States’ trust relationship. Washington v. Confederated Bands & Tribes

of the Yakima Indian Nation, 439 U.S. 463, 501 (1979) (citing Mancari, 415 U.S.

at 551-52). The Supreme Court has therefore held that limited hiring preferences

for Native Americans at the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not constitute unlawful

race discrimination. Mancari, 417 U.S at 553-54. Other circuits have extended

this principle to the Establishment Clause context. Rupert, 957 F.2d at 35

(rejecting a non-Native American’s Establishment Clause challenge to permit

regulations under the BGEPA); Thornburgh, 922 F.2d at 1217 (finding no

-28-
Establishment Clause violation where federal law exempted members of the

Native American Church from a prohibition on peyote possession); see also

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 540

(1993) (Kennedy, J., and O’Connor, J.) (“In determining if the object of a law is a

neutral one under the Free Exercise Clause, we can also find guidance in our

equal protection cases.”).

However, such analysis is irrelevant in the RFRA context. RFRA plainly

commands that a federal program that substantially burdens religion must be the

least restrictive means of achieving a compelling government interest. Our focus

here, under RFRA, is not whether the government may set up a different system

for tribal adherents of Native American religions than for non-tribal adherents.

Rather, it is whether the government may burden the religious beliefs of non-

tribal adherents in the first place.

In sum, the government’s general interests in preserving Native American

culture and religion in-and-of-themselves and in fulfilling trust obligations to

Native Americans remain compelling interests. 19 The government’s plenary

19
The government asserts that it has a compelling interest in fulfilling
treaty obligations to Native Americans. This argument lacks merit. As the
government acknowledges in its brief, the Supreme Court has held that the
BGEPA abrogated prior treaties granting Native Americans hunting rights with
respect to bald and golden eagles. United States v. Dion, 476 U.S. 734, 745
(1986). The government argues that the regulations at issue here replace the prior
(continued...)

-29-
power to legislate with respect to Native American Tribes does not, however, in

the context of a RFRA challenge, relieve the government of its burden to prove

that the statute and regulations constitute the least restrictive means of achieving

its goals.

2. Least Restrictive Means

The two dispositive questions under RFRA are whether application of the

permitting process to claimants furthers the government’s compelling interests,

and whether it is the “least restrictive means” of furthering those interests. 42

U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(b). This statutory language must guide our analysis.

The statute directs that, in interpreting “least restrictive means,” courts

should view the Act as “restor[ing] the compelling interest test as set forth in

Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963) and Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205.”

42 U.S.C. § 2000bb(b); see also S. Rep. 103-111, 1993 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1892, 1898

(“The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 is intended to restore the

compelling interest test previously applicable to free exercise cases . . . . The

committee expects that the courts will look to free exercise cases decided prior to

(...continued)
19

treaty obligations. We are unpersuaded. It does not follow from the BGEPA’s
abrogation of certain treaty rights that the “Indian tribes” exception was meant to
replace those rights. Moreover, the exception is limited to “religious purposes,”
whereas the rights that Dion held Congress had abrogated involved hunting.
Thus, the government has not shown that fulfillment of treaty obligations is a
compelling interest.

-30-
Smith for guidance in determining whether the exercise of religion has been

substantially burdened and the least restrictive means have been employed in

furthering a compelling governmental interest.”); id. at 1898 (“Therefore, the

compelling interest test generally should not be construed more stringently or

more leniently than it was prior to Smith.”). In the context of these cases, “least

restrictive means” is a severe form of the more commonly used “narrowly

tailored” test. Sherbert, 374 U.S. at 407 (“[E]ven if the possibility of spurious

claims did threaten to dilute the fund and disrupt the scheduling of work, it would

plainly be incumbent upon the appellees [i.e., the government] to demonstrate that

no alternative forms of regulation would combat such abuses without infringing

First Amendment rights.” Id. at 407 (emphasis added); Yoder, 406 U.S. at 215

(“The essence of all that has been said and written on the subject is that only

those interests of the highest order and those not otherwise served can

overbalance legitimate claims to the free exercise of religion.”) (emphasis added);

see also Hialeah, 508 U.S. at 546 (“The proffered objectives are not pursued with

respect to analogous non-religious conduct, and those interests could be achieved

by narrower ordinances that burdened religion to a far lesser degree. The absence

of narrow tailoring suffices to establish the invalidity of the ordinances.”).

Given these contours, we evaluate the regulatory scheme for the BGEPA and

MBTA to determine whether they are sufficiently narrowly tailored and represent

-31-
the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling interest.

We next address the proper standard of review for evaluating a trial judge’s

determination that a law represents the least restrictive means of achieving a

compelling interest. We are aware of only one circuit that has addressed whether

“least restrictive means” in the context of RFRA is a legal issue, a factual issue, a

mixed question of law and fact, or a question of constitutional fact. 20 However,

due to the dearth of factual findings on the records before us, we need not address

that question today. Irrespective of which particular standard of review we use,

the burden of building the record for our review falls upon the United States.

Werner v. McCotter, 49 F.3d 1476, 1480 n.2 (10th Cir. 1995). Mere speculation

is not enough to carry this burden. Sherbert, 374 U.S. at 407 (“The[State]

suggest[s] no more than a possibility that the filing of fraudulent claims by

unscrupulous claimants feigning religious objections to Saturday work might not

only dilute the unemployment compensation fund but also hinder the scheduling

20
In re Young, 82 F.3d 1407, 1419 (8th Cir. 1996), vacated & remanded on
other grounds, 521 U.S. 1114 (1997), reinstated, 141 F.3d 854 (8th Cir. 1998).
Several district courts have found least restrictive means to be a purely factual
question. Sledge v. Cummings, 1996 WL 665450, at *4 (D. Kan. 1996)
(“[W]hether the head wear [sic] restrictions represent the least restrictive means
of furthering their legitimate security goals remains a question of fact . . . .”);
Rust v. Clarke, 851 F. Supp. 377, 380 (D. Neb. 1994) (“Moreover, all of the
defense affidavits appear to have been drafted without the Act’s substantive
provisions in mind, particularly ignoring the factual question of whether the
Defendants have employed ‘the least restrictive means of furthering th[e]
compelling governmental interest.’”).

-32-
by employers of necessary Saturday work. . . . [T]here is no proof whatever to

warrant such fears of malingering or deceit as those which the [State] now

advance[s].”); Yoder, 406 U.S. at 224-25 (calling for “specific evidence” of the

interests advanced and how accommodation would affect them); Werner, 49 F.3d

at 1480 (stating that “the state must do more than simply offer conclusory

statements” to satisfy its burdens) (citation omitted).

For the reasons set forth below, in the absence of any factual record in

Hardman and Wilgus, it is appropriate to remand for factfinding under any

standard of review. Similarly, it is appropriate to affirm the district court in

Saenz whether we subject a district court’s determination on the least restrictive

means to de novo review, or merely for clear error.

F. Application to Hardman, Wilgus, and Saenz

1. Hardman and Wilgus

The government bears the burden of building a record that proves that the

statutory and regulatory scheme in question is the least restrictive means of

advancing the government’s compelling interests. In these two cases, the RFRA

claims were dismissed in light of City of Boerne as a matter of law before trial.

The government thus has not had an opportunity to build a record with respect to

either case. We therefore REMAND these cases to afford both parties an

opportunity to develop a record, and for a determination as to whether these

-33-
regulations represent the least restrictive means of advancing the government’s

interests.

2. Saenz

We are in a different situation with regard to Mr. Saenz. The government

did build a record in the district court with respect to Mr. Saenz. Therefore, we

examine the record to determine if the government has carried its burden of

proving the least restrictive means of carrying out its interests. First, however,

the government claims at oral argument that we should remand because the

district court failed to convert Mr. Saenz’s action, which was brought under Rule

41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, into a civil action. Such a

conversion would require that the suit be governed by the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure, giving the government access to full discovery, depositions, and the

like.

It is true that when criminal charges have been dismissed, a court should

treat a Rule 41(e) motion as a civil complaint. United States v. Clark, 84 F.3d

378, 381 (10th Cir. 1996). However, the government raised this argument for the

first time on appeal in a footnote in its en banc brief. Arguments raised in a

perfunctory manner, such as in a footnote, are waived. United States v. White,

879 F.2d 1509, 1513 (7th Cir. 1989). Unlike the broader RFRA question, we did

not direct briefing on this argument, and Mr. Saenz was not put on notice at any

-34-
other point during this appeal or through the Hardman or Wilgus briefs that we

might consider this issue on appeal. Additionally, we cannot say that the

government was substantially prejudiced by the lower court’s denial of the

government’s motion to treat the 41(e) motion as a civil complaint, as the lower

court conducted a thorough two day evidentiary hearing, with witnesses called by

both sides. We therefore decline to consider the question sua sponte, and we

consider the record as it stands before us. Lyons v. Jefferson Bank & Trust, 994

F.2d 716, 720 (10th Cir. 1993) (citing Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 120

(1976)) (noting that the general rule is not to consider issues that a party has not

raised on appeal).

We move on, then, to the question of whether the government has met its

burden of proving that the permitting scheme is the least restrictive means of

advancing its compelling interests. We note at the outset that the government

relies in part upon a number of cases in which courts have held that the

regulations at issue here are the least restrictive means of advancing the

government’s interests. See, e.g., Rupert, 957 F.2d at 35-36 (“The exemption,

therefore, does not merely serve the government’s interests . . . it sets them in

equipoise. . . . Any diminution of the exemption would adversely affect the

former interest [in protecting Native American culture], but any extension of it

would adversely affect the latter [in protecting eagles].”). While we would

-35-
generally give weight to such persuasive authority, we are unable to do so given

the poorly developed record in the cases at hand. Here, as we explain below, the

government has failed to demonstrate how the current regulations serve each of

its asserted interests – a necessary step in the process of showing that the

regulations are the least restrictive means of serving the government’s interests.

The record is devoid of hard evidence indicating that the current regulations are

narrowly tailored to advance the government’s interests, and it does not address

the possibility of other, less restrictive means of achieving these interests. We

therefore find that, on the record presented in Saenz, the government has failed to

show that limiting permits for eagle feathers only to members of federally

recognized tribes is the least restrictive means of advancing the government’s

interests in preserving eagle populations and protecting Native American culture.

a. Protecting Eagles

We first consider how excluding sincere practitioners of Native American

religions who are not members of federally recognized tribes from applying for

permits advances the government’s interest in preserving the eagle population.

Presumably, expanding the permit process to include non-Native American

adherents would have no effect on bird populations – as long as the total number

of permits available stayed constant, such an expansion would at worst create a

longer wait list for parts. We do not, however, make rulings on presumptions.

-36-
Instead, it is incumbent upon the government to build a record that either

contradicts or confirms these presumptions.

Here, the government has not carried its burden. The government offers

two arguments. First, the government presented an estimate of the number of

members of federally-recognized tribes versus the number of Americans who

identify themselves as having Indian ancestry. The apparent purpose of these

estimates is to support an extrapolation that expanding the permitting process

would expand the number of permit applicants, thereby further endangering eagle

populations. The record contains no evidence indicating that increased permit

applications would place increased pressure on eagle populations. Such a result

seems highly unlikely, especially since the impact upon eagle populations is an

explicit consideration in determining whether or not to grant a permit. Moreover,

the data provided are largely irrelevant. The relevant comparison is between

members of federally recognized tribes who hold the eagle feather as sacred and

other persons who hold a sincere religious belief that the eagle feather is sacred.

The government’s estimation process is akin to attempting to extrapolate the

number of practicing Catholics in the country by identifying the number of Irish-

Americans. We will not engage in such extrapolation here.

Second, the government argues that increasing the wait for parts will

increase poaching. As evidence, it cites cases in which practitioners from

-37-
federally recognized tribes poached eagles rather than waiting for parts. From

this, the government asks us to extrapolate that more applicants will lead to

longer waits, which will lead to more poaching and further endanger the eagle.

Assuming arguendo that there will be an increased wait for parts, the

government’s poaching argument misses the mark. The fact that some members

of federally recognized tribes have poached eagles rather than waiting for parts

does not, absent additional evidence, lead to the conclusion that increased waits

will result in sufficient poaching to frustrate the government’s interest in

protecting eagle populations. In the absence of additional evidence, the opposite

conclusion seems equally plausible. While the wait might increase for members

of federally recognized tribes, it would decrease for sincere practitioners who are

not members of federally recognized tribes, who currently have no legal access to

eagle parts for religious purposes. This approach could result in an offsetting

decrease in poaching by people who are not members of federally recognized

tribes. People with no opportunity to receive eagle feathers might be more likely

to poach than those who must simply wait. At any rate, these questions remain

unanswered in the record in this case, and it was incumbent upon the government

to answer them. 21

21
The government’s statistic that there are only 40 nesting pairs of eagles
in the Southwest is largely irrelevant. 64 Fed. Reg. 36,458. What is more
(continued...)

-38-
 b. Protecting Native American Culture

We next consider to what degree excluding non-tribal members from the

permitting scheme advances the government’s interest in preserving Native

American cultures and fulfilling trust obligations. We find that the United States

has failed to build an adequate record on this question. The only evidence offered

by the government that Native American culture would be endangered by

expanding the permitting process to include all bona fide practitioners of Native

American faiths is the speculative testimony of a Fish and Wildlife Service

official, similar testimony from a member of the Mescalero Apache tribe, and

evidence that there is currently a wait for parts. 22 The government cannot carry

its burden through mere speculation. The government has failed to present any

21
(...continued)
relevant is whether the numbers are increasing or decreasing, and what the overall
status of eagle populations throughout the country is. Finally, the crucial and
unanswered question remains what the effect would be of expanding the register
to include all Native Americans who are sincere practitioners of Native American
religions.
22
The government also points to Gibson v. Babbitt, 223 F.3d 1256 (11th
Cir. 2000), where the Eleventh Circuit found that “it is clear from the record that
without the exemption the limited supply of bald and golden eagle parts will be
distributed to a wider population and the delays will increase in providing eagle
parts to members of federally recognized Indian Tribes . . . .” Id. at 1258.
However, as the quotation itself illustrates, this ruling was made on a different
record. The record that we have today is practically barren as to the impact of a
potential expansion of the permitting process to include all sincere practitioners
of Native American faith who hold the eagle feather to be sacred. This is the key
distinction between the instant cases and Gibson.

-39-
hard evidence that there are substantial numbers of individuals who are not

members of federally recognized tribes, but who are sincere practitioners of

Native American faiths that hold eagle feathers to be sacred and could be

expected to apply for permits. Thus, it has failed to show that broader eligibility

would result in an increased wait substantial enough to endanger Native American

cultures. The government gives no consideration to any offsetting increase in

available parts from any recovery of bald and golden eagle population. Moreover,

the government offers no evidence on the threshold question of whether allowing

sincere practitioners who are not members of federally recognized tribes to

possess eagle feathers, in addition to those who are members, truly threatens

Native American culture. Allowing a wider variety of people to participate in

Native American religion could just as easily foster Native American culture and

religion by exposing it to a wider array of persons. 23

23
Footnote 2 of the concurrence suggests that this example confuses the
possible scope of the compelling interest in preserving Native American culture.
The concurrence questions whether we view the compelling interest as “limited to
the maintenance of the viability of Native American cultural practices as a
historical legacy within the contours of our modern culture,” or as “guaranteeing
that members of sovereign and semi-autonomous Indian nations have the ability to
carry on their traditional way of life.” Infra, at ___ (Murphy, J., concurring) .
We agree that simply guaranteeing that Native American cultural practices
are somehow a part of our modern culture is too cramped a view of the
compelling interest, and we wish to dispose of any notion that such a view is
advanced by this opinion, or by Supreme Court jurisprudence. See United States
v. Kagama, 118 U.S. 375, 381-85 (1886) (describing the government’s interest in
(continued...)

-40-
 Finally, the government has offered insufficient evidence regarding its trust

obligations to federally recognized Native American tribes. It has not shown, for

instance, that statutory protections for eagles (apart from the exception for

religious purposes) were motivated by trust obligations. Nor has it shown

precisely how restricting personal, individual permits for religious purposes to

members of federally recognized tribes is connected to the government’s

sovereign-to-sovereign relationships with tribes. Thus, the government has not

shown that broader permit eligibility would damage the government’s ability to

fulfill its trust obligations.

The government has failed to demonstrate how the permitting process

advances its compelling interests. It leaves far too many questions unanswered.

We therefore find that it has failed to carry its burden.

c. Setting the Interests in Equipoise

As the First Circuit recognizes, and as Judge Murphy’s opinion concurring

in the judgment emphasizes, the ultimate task for the district court is not to

23
(...continued)
protecting Native American culture as guaranteeing that the weakened Native
American nations could survive). We do not express an opinion on whether
distributing eagle feathers to sincere adherents of Native American faiths
irrespective of whether they were members of federally recognized tribes or not,
or of Native American lineage or not, would foster or inhibit this compelling
interest. We simply emphasize that it is the government’s burden to build a
record clarifying how the regulations serve its interests. It may well be that it can
do so on remand in Hardman and Wilgus. It has not, however, done so in Saenz.

-41-
compartmentalize the interests as we do above. The First Circuit and Judge

Murphy rightly point out that there is a great deal of interplay between the two

compelling interests and that the ultimate test is whether the balance between the

two interests struck by the government is achieved by the least restrictive means

available. Infra at ___ (Murphy, J., concurring); Rupert v. Director, U.S. Fish &

Wildlife Serv., 957 F.2d 32, 35 (1st Cir. 1992); see also United States v. Dion,

476 U.S. 734, 743-44 (1986) (“Congress . . . considered the special cultural and

religious interests of Indians, balanced those needs against the conservation

purposes of the statute, and provided a specific, narrow exception . . . .”).

This can be conceptualized as something of a sliding scale: At one extreme

is a situation where nobody can hold eagle feathers, which would maximize eagle

protection and set protection of Native American cultures at zero. At the other

extreme is a situation where members of federally recognized tribes who are

sincere practitioners of Native American religion are given full access to all the

eagle feathers they desire, which minimizes protection of eagles. 24 The

government has essentially chosen a point somewhere along this continuum which

attempts to strike some type of balance between the two extremes. The ultimate

question for the court, then, is whether the point that the government has chosen

24
Of course, one might question whether this is really the other extreme;
this would presumably result in the extinction of eagles, defeating both of the
government’s interests.

-42-
constitutes means that minimize the impact on religious adherents who are not

members of federally recognized tribes.

Before that ultimate question can be addressed, however, we must first

determine where along that continuum the government’s present solution lies, and

where other, less restrictive means would lie. This analysis is a necessary

predicate to determining whether the government has properly set the interests in

equipoise, and it requires that we compartmentalize our analysis somewhat. On

appeal, it was the government’s burden to show us how it was balancing the

interests and that no other, less restrictive means existed to achieve a similar

balance. From the record, we do not know how much, if at all, the government’s

regulatory scheme advances the interest in protecting eagles. Judge Murphy is

correct in pointing out that, viewed as a whole, the BGEPA and MBTA surely

advance the interest in eagle protection; no one is questioning the

constitutionality of the MBTA/BGEPA as such. Similarly, allowing only a

specified number of people to apply for permits also surely advances the

government’s interest. That is not questioned here either. What is questioned is

how those permits are distributed. The question at the heart of this case is why an

individual who is not a member of a federally recognized tribe is foreclosed from

applying for a permit that may be used as a defense to criminal prosecution for

possession of eagle feathers, while an identically situated individual may apply

-43-
for a permit if she is a member of a federally recognized tribe. The government’s

interest in preserving eagles might have something to do with the total number of

people who are allowed to acquire eagle feathers, but it quite possibly has little to

do with the question here, which is how those permits are distributed. We do not,

however, have a sufficient factual record to state even that conclusion with

certainty, and this requires us to remand in Wilgus and Hardman and is fatal to

the government’s case in Saenz. The government also has not shown how many

eagles exist, in what direction the eagle population is trending, how many people

can be expected to apply for permits if the regulations change, how much

additional delay in delivering eagle feathers to applicants could be expected under

various alternative schemes, and how much such delays might impact Native

American culture.

Thus, it is impossible for us to address whether the government has offered

the least restrictive means of balancing the questions, because it has not

established where on the above-described continuum of interests the current

regulatory scheme lies, nor has it described where other, less restrictive

alternatives lie on that continuum. In the end, the approach that this opinion takes

is not particularly dissimilar from that contained in Judge Murphy’s concurrence;

we are simply attacking the question from different ends. On remand, if the

district court is presented with sufficient factual evidence to enable it to

-44-
determine that the government is indeed balancing two interests, then it must

proceed to an examination of the scheme under the Rupert framework as laid out

in Judge Murphy’s concurring opinion and this opinion. It should determine how

the government has balanced the interests and should examine whether potentially

broader, less burdensome regulations would allow it to strike a similar balance.

But for the purposes of this appeal, we are simply not presented with adequate

factual findings to make the necessary predicate determinations before proceeding

to that step in the analysis.

III. Conclusion

We have reached these conclusions on statutory grounds, which we

addressed in part in order to avoid constitutional issues. See also Lyng v.

Northwest Indian Cemetery Prot. Ass’n, 485 U.S. 439, 445 (1988) (“A

fundamental and longstanding principle of judicial restraint requires that courts

avoid reaching constitutional questions in advance of the necessity of deciding

them.”). We therefore find it unnecessary to address Mr. Wilgus’s free exercise

claim or Mr. Hardman’s free exercise and equal protection claims.

We therefore REMAND with respect to Mr. Hardman and Mr. Wilgus, and

AFFIRM with respect to Mr. Saenz.

-45-
HENRY, J., concurs in the above opinion, and concurs in the reasoning of Judge

MURPHY’s opinion.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge, with whom Judge BRISCOE joins, concurring in part

and concurring in the judgment.

By looking narrowly at a particular provision of the regulatory scheme at

issue in this case, 1 i.e., the permitting process, the majority concludes in Saenz

that the “government has failed to demonstrate how the permitting process

advances its compelling interests.” See Majority Op. at 41. I disagree. The

regulatory scheme, when properly viewed in its entirety, clearly advances both the

government’s compelling interest in protecting eagles and its compelling interest

in preserving Native American culture. Nevertheless, because the government

failed to carry its burden of demonstrating that the regulatory scheme is the least

restrictive means of setting its two compelling yet competing interests in

equipoise, I would also affirm the district court in Saenz. This difference in

approach is not pedantic. It is, instead, likely to have real significance in light of

this court’s remand of Hardman and Wilgus to the district court for further

proceedings. Unfortunately, I fear the majority opinion in Saenz will misdirect

1
The relevant regulatory scheme is comprised of the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and their shared implementing
regulations.

-1-
the district court upon remand in Hardman and Wilgus.

The regulatory scheme represents an attempt by Congress to harmonize, to

the extent practicable, two competing interests: protection of eagle populations

and preservation of Native American cultural practices. See United States v.

Dion, 476 U.S. 734, 743-44 (1986) (“Congress . . . considered the special cultural

and religious interests of Indians, balanced those needs against the conservation

purposes of the statute, and provided a specific, narrow exception . . . .”). The

majority quite correctly recognizes that each of these interests is compelling in its

own right. See Majority Op. at 27, 29. Under RFRA, the question then becomes

whether the regulatory scheme furthers these two compelling yet competing

interests and whether it is the “least restrictive means” of doing so. See 42 U.S.C.

§ 2000bb-1(b).

The majority concludes in Saenz that it need not decide whether the

regulatory scheme is the least restrictive means of advancing the government’s

compelling yet competing interests because “[t]he government has failed to

demonstrate how the permitting process advances its compelling interests.”

Majority Op. at 41; see also 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(b) (“Government may

substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that

application of the burden to the person—(1) is in furtherance of a compelling

governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that

-2-
compelling governmental interest.”). 2 As set forth more fully below, I disagree

both with the analytical approach utilized by the majority to reach this conclusion

and with the conclusion itself.

The majority begins its analysis by “consider[ing] how excluding sincere

practitioners of Native American religions who are not members of federally

recognized tribes from applying for permits advances the government’s interest in

preserving eagle populations.” Majority Op. at 36. The majority ultimately

concludes that the government has failed to adduce any record evidence that the

2
In light of the majority’s conclusion in Saenz that the government failed to
demonstrate that the regulatory scheme advances its compelling interests and the
conclusion in Hardman and Wilgus that the record is insufficient to undertake any
RFRA analysis at all, the entire extensive discussion of RFRA’s least-restrictive-
means requirement set out at Section II.E.2. of the majority opinion appears to be
dicta. Admittedly, however, the exact basis for affirming the district court in
Saenz is not clear from the majority opinion. Compare Majority Op. at 36 (“Here,
as we explain below, the government has failed to demonstrate how the current
regulations serve each of its asserted interests—a necessary step in the process of
showing that the regulations are the least restrictive means of serving the
government’s interests.”), and id. at 41 (“The government has failed to
demonstrate how the permitting process advances its compelling interests.”), with
id. at 34 (“The government did build a record in the district court with respect to
Mr. Saenz. Therefore, we examine the record to determine if the government has
carried its burden of proving the least restrictive means of carrying out its
interests.”), id. at 35 (“We move on, then, to the question of whether the
government has met its burden of proving that the permitting scheme is the least
restrictive means of advancing its compelling interests.”), and id. at 36 (“We
therefore find that, on the record presented in Saenz, the government has failed to
show that limiting permits for eagle feathers only to members of federally
recognized tribes is the least restrictive means of advancing the government’s
interests in preserving eagle populations and protecting Native American
cultures.”).

-3-
permitting process advances the government’s interest in protecting eagles. See

id. at 36-38. This conclusion is not at all surprising, nor is it even remotely

relevant. By the end of its opinion, the majority seems to have forgotten that the

permitting process set out at 50 C.F.R. § 22.22 is part of a broader regulatory

scheme—BGEPA, MBTA, and their shared regulations—designed to further two

compelling yet competing interests. See Majority Op. at 12-16 (setting out as

background entire regulatory scheme); United States v. Dion, 476 U.S. 734, 743-

44 (1986) (“Congress . . . considered the special cultural and religious interests of

Indians, balanced those needs against the conservation purposes of the statute,

and provided a specific, narrow exception . . . .”). In furtherance of one of those

compelling interests, the interest in protecting eagles, the regulatory scheme

prohibits the possession of eagles and eagle parts. See 16 U.S.C. § 703; id. § 668.

In furtherance of the competing interest, the interest in preserving Native

American culture, the regulatory scheme empowers the Secretary of the Interior to

allow possession of eagles and eagle parts for the “religious purposes of Indian

tribes.” Id. § 668a; see also id. § 704. Accordingly, the relevant question is

whether the entire regulatory scheme as a whole, not just one selected portion of

it, advances the government’s compelling interest in the preservation of eagles.

There can be absolutely no question that the general prohibition on the taking or

possession of eagles or eagle parts advances the government’s interest in the

-4-
preservation of eagles.

The majority’s determination that the regulatory scheme does not advance

the government’s interest in protecting Native American culture is equally flawed.

The majority “consider[s] to what degree excluding non-tribal members from the

permitting scheme advances the government’s interest in preserving Native

American cultures and fulfilling trust obligations” and ultimately concludes that

“[t]he government has failed to demonstrate how the permitting process advances

its compelling interests.” Majority Op. 39, 41. As set forth below, the majority’s

analysis of this claim improperly mixes two separate questions. Furthermore, the

majority is simply incorrect in concluding that the regulatory scheme does not

advance the government’s interest in protecting Native American culture.

First, although the majority purports to analyze whether the permitting

process furthers the government’s interests in protecting Native American culture,

the bulk of the majority’s discussion in Section II.F.2.b. is actually directed to the

analytically distinct question of whether the permitting process is the least

restrictive means of advancing that interest. For instance, the majority concludes

that the government has failed to carry its burden of demonstrating that “broader

eligibility would result in an increased wait substantial enough to endanger Native

American cultures.” Majority Op. at 40. Although I agree with this statement

and would thus affirm the district court in Saenz on the ground that the

-5-
government failed to carry its burden of proving that the regulatory scheme is the

least restrictive means of setting its compelling yet competing interests in

equipoise, see infra, I fail to see how this evidentiary deficiency relates to the

question whether the regulatory scheme advances the government’s interest in

protecting Native American culture. At this stage of the analysis, the question is

not whether a less restrictive regulatory scheme would advance the government’s

interest; the question is whether the current regulatory scheme does advance those

interests.

Second, in contrast to the conclusion reached by the majority, the

regulatory exception as implemented through the permitting process most surely

advances the government’s interest in protecting Native American culture.

Without the exception, Native Americans would fall under the general prohibition

against the possession of eagles and eagle parts. Without access to eagles and

eagle parts, Native Americans could not engage in their traditional way of life.

Accordingly, the permitting process, which allows Native Americans to access

sacred items that they would otherwise be banned from possessing, advances the

government’s interest in protecting Native American culture. 3

3
It is unclear from the majority opinion exactly what are the contours of the
government’s compelling interest in protecting Native American culture. The
majority intimates that the interest can be limited to the maintenance of the
viability of Native American cultural practices as a historical legacy within the
(continued...)

-6-
 Because it is absolutely clear the regulatory scheme advances the

3
(...continued)
contours of our modern culture. See Majority Op. at 40 (“Moreover, the
government offers no evidence on the threshold question of whether allowing
sincere practitioners who are not members of federally recognized tribes to
possess eagle feathers, in addition to those who are members, truly threatens
Native American culture. Allowing a wider variety of people to participate in
Native American religion could just as easily foster Native American culture and
religion by exposing it to a wider array of persons.”). If that were truly the nature
of the government’s compelling interest, however, I cannot imagine what
evidence the government could produce on remand in Hardman and Wilgus to
demonstrate that the current regulatory scheme is the least restrictive means of
balancing its compelling yet competing interests. Under this view, the
government’s interest in protecting Native American culture would be furthered
to the exact same extent if the available supply of eagle parts were distributed
equally to all adherents of relevant Native American religions, without regard to
whether the adherents were, in fact, Native Americans.
I see the contours of the government’s compelling interest a little
differently: guaranteeing members of sovereign and semi-autonomous Indian
nations the ability to carry on their traditional way of life. Accordingly, the
government’s task on remand is to adduce evidence, if possible, demonstrating
that any further delay in the provision of eagle parts and feathers occasioned
through expanding the pool of eligibility would hinder the ability of Native
Americans to engage in their traditional way of life.
Despite the language from the majority opinion quoted above, the majority
disclaims expressing any opinion “on whether distributing eagle feathers to
sincere adherents of Native American faiths irrespective of whether they were
members of federally recognized tribes or not, or of Native American lineage or
not, would foster or inhibit” the government’s compelling interest. Id. at 40 n.23.
It also disclaims any suggestion that it takes “too cramped a view” of the
government’s compelling interest. Id. If, however, the government’s compelling
interest lies in guaranteeing that members of sovereign and semi-autonomous
Indian nations have the ability to carry on their traditional ways of life, I fail to
see how distributing eagle feathers outside of that class could ever “foster” the
government’s interest. This is an entirely different question, however, from
whether the government could further its competing interests in a less restrictive
manner. Unfortunately, footnote 23 of the majority opinion fails to clarify the
nature of the government’s compelling interest.

-7-
government’s dueling interests in preserving eagles and protecting Native

American culture, it is necessary to proceed to RFRA’s least-restrictive-means

requirement. As noted above, the rather unique regulatory scheme at issue in this

case is an effort to accommodate two compelling yet competing interests. It

would therefore seem that the relevant question is whether the scheme is the least

restrictive means to further the government’s interest in setting those interests in

equipoise. Indeed, the First Circuit has described this regulatory scheme, albeit in

the context of an Establishment Clause challenge, as follows:

The exemption, therefore, does not merely serve the government’s
interests in (1) protecting Native American religion and culture and
(2) protecting a dwindling and precious eagle population; it sets
those interests in equipoise. Any diminution of the exemption would
adversely affect the former interest, but any extension of it would
adversely affect the latter. In equal protection terms, the “fit”
between classification and legislative purpose is snug; indeed, given
the nature of the governmental interests at stake and the close fit
between the exemption and those interests, we would be hard put to
say that the exemption could not survive even “strict scrutiny.”

Rupert v. Dir., United States Fish & Wildlife Serv., 957 F.2d 32, 35-36 (1st Cir.

1992).

For this exact reason, any analysis of whether the regulatory scheme is the

least restrictive means of advancing either compelling interest, when considered

in isolation, necessarily leads to the conclusion that the regulatory scheme

conflicts with RFRA. If, for instance, the regulatory scheme is measured solely

against the government’s interest in protecting eagles, it is clear that the scheme

-8-
is not the least restrictive means of advancing that interest. In that scenario,

distributing the available parts and feathers from dead eagles to all individuals

with a sincere religious need for the items is a less restrictive, but equally

effective, means of protecting eagle populations. If, on the other hand, the

regulatory scheme is measured solely against the government’s interest in

protecting Native American culture, that interest can be furthered in a less

restrictive way by increasing the supply of eagle parts through the hunting of

eagles. This analytical approach, although certainly easy to conceptualize and

apply, fails to truly capture the essence of the government’s interest in setting

dueling compelling interests in equipoise.

Accordingly, it is not relevant to this court’s resolution of Saenz that the

government failed to show “that statutory protections for eagles (apart from the

exception for religious purposes) were motivated by trust obligations.” Majority

Op. at 41. It is clear that the statutory protections afforded eagles are not in any

way related to the government’s compelling interest in protecting Native

American culture. Instead, the statutory prohibition is designed to protect the

viability of the species and the exception for Native American religious practices

is an attempt to reconcile the interest in eagle conservation with the interest in

preserving Native American culture. Unfortunately, the statements from the

majority opinion cited above, although made in the context of its apparent

-9-
resolution of this case at the antecedent step of whether the regulatory scheme

advances the government’s interests at all, diminish the magnitude of the

government’s interests and, more importantly, misdirect the district court as to its

task on remand in Hardman and Wilgus.

The majority correctly opines that each of the interests advanced by the

government is compelling and that the record is simply too sparse to engage in

any meaningful analysis of Hardman’s and Wilgus’ RFRA claims. Although I

agree that the district court appropriately sustained Saenz’s RFRA claim, I reach

that conclusion on a basis significantly different than that of the majority.

Although I would conclude the record clearly demonstrates that the regulatory

scheme advances each of the government’s compelling yet competing interests,

the government has failed to demonstrate that the scheme is the least restrictive

means of placing its dueling interests in equipoise. In particular, the record on

appeal is so sparse that it is impossible to determine whether expanding eligibility

for eagles and eagle parts would compromise the government’s interest in

protecting Native American culture. Unless the government can present evidence

demonstrating that the answer to this question is affirmative, the regulatory

scheme is not the least restrictive means of setting the government’s interests in

equipoise. Accordingly, the extraordinary task for the district court on remand in

Hardman and Wilgus is to determine, on a proper evidentiary record, whether

-10-
there is any possible scheme which places the government’s interests in equipoise

in a less restrictive manner, i.e., places the interests in equipoise while, at the

same time, providing eagle parts to sincere believers who are not members of a

federally recognized tribe.

-11-
HARTZ, Circuit Judge, concurring:

I join Chief Judge Tacha’s opinion for the court. I write separately to

emphasize what we are not deciding.

The issue raised by these appeals is whether the claimants were entitled

under RFRA to permits to possess the eagle parts they had obtained. Each

claimant has challenged the regulatory scheme created by the general ban on

possession of eagle parts imposed by 16 U.S.C. §§ 668 and 703 and the

exceptions to the general ban authorized by 16 U.S.C. §§ 668a and 704.

The issue not raised by these appeals is whether the procedures for

distributing eagle parts from the National Eagle Repository are contrary to RFRA.

These procedures had no effect on the conduct of the claimants before us. The

records in these cases indicate that the claimants obtained their eagle parts as gifts

from Native Americans. Nothing suggests that the unavailability of eagle parts

from the Repository caused any of the claimants to search actively for an alternate

source, causing the claimant to acquire the parts in the manner that he did. Cf.

United States v. Oliver, 255 F.3d 588 (8th Cir. 2001) (per curiam) (defendant

claimed that delays in obtaining eagle parts from the Repository led him to obtain

the parts illegally). Hardman sought a permit from a Utah agency to possess his

feathers; he did not seek Repository feathers. As I understand the arguments of

-1-
the claimants on appeal, they are simply asserting that the government has no

compelling interest in preventing them from continuing to possess their eagle

parts for religious purposes; in other words, they should be entitled to permits to

possess the parts. They have not argued, and, on the facts of these cases, they

have no reason to argue, that they are entitled to eagle parts acquired by the

Repository.

It is important to state what we are not deciding because the briefs and

arguments have expressed concern about the possible impact of our decision on

the ability of tribes to obtain eagle parts for religious purposes from the

Repository. That impact will be negligible, if not nonexistent. As I will now

attempt to explain, the issues on remand in the Hardman and Wilgus cases are

quite different from the issues that would have to be decided on a RFRA

challenge to the practices of the Repository.

1. Issues on Remand

As Chief Judge Tacha’s opinion states, the protection of golden eagles and

bald eagles is a “compelling governmental interest” within the meaning of the

term in RFRA. The government is entitled to take steps necessary to prevent

humans from killing these birds. It is my understanding that under the present

operation of the regulations, no killing is permitted for any reason, religious or

otherwise. For example, if eagles are preying on livestock, permits are not issued

-2-
to kill the eagles but only to capture them and then provide them to falconers or

Indian tribes.

The chief question under RFRA is whether the governmental controls on

possession of eagle parts are more restrictive than necessary to accomplish the

purpose of protecting eagles. Or, to use the statutory language, are the

governmental controls “the least restrictive means of furthering [the] compelling

governmental interest” of protecting eagles? 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(b)(2). In the

context of the present cases, the matter to be resolved is whether protecting eagles

requires a ban on possession of eagle parts by those who need the parts for

religious worship but are not members of recognized tribes. (I shall refer to such

persons as “worshippers.”) In my view, the government’s practice of permitting

members of recognized tribes to possess eagle parts is largely irrelevant to the

analysis. That practice is certainly relevant to an Establishment Clause or equal

protection argument, but we do not address those issues in this appeal.

The government’s burden would be as follows: First, the government must

establish the necessity of a general ban on possession of eagle parts, rather than

just a prohibition on killing or capturing eagles. I assume that the government

will be able to satisfy that burden by showing that it is ordinarily impossible for

an inspection to determine whether an eagle feather or other eagle part has come

from a bird that died naturally or as a result of illegal hunting (by shooting,

-3-
poisoning, trapping, etc.).

The government must then show that any exceptions beyond the ones

already recognized would be unworkable. This strikes me as a more difficult

obstacle for the government. It may be possible for a possessor of eagle parts to

provide convincing proof that the parts came from a legitimate source. For

example, a tribal religious leader who obtains eagle feathers from the Repository

can readily establish the propriety of possessing those feathers. Or if (as may

well be the case with Hardman and Wilgus) the possessor can convincingly prove

that he obtained eagle feathers from a source that acquired the feathers from the

Repository or from eagles that died before the effective date of the statutory

protection for eagles, 1 then protection of eagles would not justify prohibiting the

possession.

A ban on possession of eagle parts is not the least restrictive means of

furthering the compelling interest in protecting eagles if it is feasible to allow

worshippers to present convincing proof of the legitimate source of the parts they

possess. The government may wish to ease its burden of reviewing evidence in

such cases by instituting a scheme to keep track of lawful eagle parts (say, by

1
No permit is required to possess parts of bald eagles lawfully acquired
before June 8, 1940, 50 C.F.R. § 22.2(a)(1)(i), or parts of golden eagles lawfully
acquired before October 24, 1962, 50 C.F.R. § 22.2(a)(1)(ii). It is not clear what
kind of proof is required for a possessor of eagle parts to qualify for one of these
exceptions to the general permit requirement.

-4-
registration); but for the present, the government would have the burden under

RFRA to show that there is no satisfactory means of reviewing evidence of the

provenance of eagle parts.

If the government fails to establish that it would be unworkable to

recognize an exception for worshippers who can trace their eagle parts to a lawful

source, the government would still have a fallback position. At the outset of this

discussion I stated that the government’s practice of authorizing possession of

eagle parts by recognized tribes is largely irrelevant. But there is one respect in

which the interests of recognized tribes may have an impact. As noted in Chief

Judge Tacha’s opinion, the federal government has compelling interests in

meeting its trust and treaty obligations to Indian tribes and in preserving Native

American culture. If the government is able to prove that it cannot properly serve

those interests without seizing privately possessed eagle parts (regardless of

whether the possessor can establish a proper source) and distributing them to

recognized tribes, then it may have satisfied RFRA’s least-restrictive-means

requirement.

These issues to be resolved on remand in the Hardman and Wilgus cases are

distinct from the issue whether RFRA invalidates the government’s scheme for

distributing dead eagles and eagle parts from the Repository. The latter issue

raises quite different legal questions from those briefed and argued in this court.

-5-
2. RFRA and the National Eagle Repository

Recognized tribes may now obtain golden eagle and bald eagle parts for

religious purposes from the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City,

Colorado. The Repository is not mentioned in the United States Code or the Code

of Federal Regulations. Its operations are not part of the statutory or regulatory

scheme at issue in the cases before us, although I presume that the Repository

would provide feathers only to those with proper permits. According to the

testimony at the Saenz hearing, the sources for the Repository include zoos and

carcasses found by field biologists, state fish and game officials, and federal

employees. A 1994 Presidential Memorandum “direct[ed] each agency

responsible for managing Federal lands to diligently and expeditiously recover

salvageable eagles found on lands under their jurisdiction and ensure that the

eagles are promptly shipped to the National Eagle Repository.” 59 Fed. Reg.

22953. I assume that eagle parts seized from unlawful possessors are also

delivered to the Repository.

Before examining how RFRA may apply to the operation of the Repository,

it is important to recognize the peculiar relationship of the statute to Supreme

Court case law on the Free Exercise Clause. As noted by the Chief Judge’s

opinion, RFRA was a congressional reaction to Employment Division v. Smith,

494 U.S. 872 (1990). The expressed purposes of RFRA are:

-6-
 (1) to restore the compelling interest test as set forth
in Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963) and
Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972) and to
guarantee its application in all cases where free exercise
of religion is substantially burdened; and
(2) to provide a claim or defense to persons whose
religious exercise is substantially burdened by
government.

42 U.S.C. § 2000bb(b). One can thus conclude that pre-Smith Supreme Court

opinions that purport to be consistent with Sherbert and Yoder are persuasive

authority with respect to the interpretation of RFRA.

The first question that arises with respect to the application of RFRA to the

operation of the Repository is whether that operation imposes a burden on the

exercise of religion. The general rule expressed in RFRA is that “Government

shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion.” 42 U.S.C.

§ 2000bb-1(a). “[E]xercise of religion” is defined in the statute as “the exercise

of religion under the First Amendment to the Constitution.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-

2(4).

One may ask how the distribution of the Repository’s eagle parts to Indian

tribes (or to anyone else, for that matter) burdens someone else’s exercise of

religion. Some illumination may be found in the Supreme Court’s observation

that “‘the Free Exercise Clause is written in terms of what the government cannot

do to the individual, not in terms of what the individual can exact from the

government.’” Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Ass’n, 485 U.S.

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439, 451 (1988) (quoting Sherbert, 374 U.S. at 412 (Douglas, J., concurring)).

Because the operation of the Repository does not do anything to a person who

might wish to possess some of the Repository’s inventory, the inability of the

person to exact eagle parts from the Repository would appear to raise no Free

Exercise issue.

In Lyng the Supreme Court upheld against a Free Exercise challenge the

government’s building of a road and harvesting of timber on public land even

though these actions “could have devastating effects on traditional Indian

religious practices.” Id. at 451. The Lyng decision predates Employment Division

v. Smith. Although Lyng has been criticized, see, e.g., Ira C. Lupu, Where Rights

Begin: The Problem of Burdens on the Free Exercise of Religion, 102 Harv. L.

Rev. 933 (1989), RFRA does not purport to affect the law set forth in that

opinion. See S. Rep. No. 103-111 (1993), reprinted in U.S.C.C.A.N. 1892, 1898

(“while the committee expresses neither approval nor disapproval of that case

law, pre-Smith case law makes it clear that strict scrutiny does not apply to

government actions involving only management of internal Government affairs or

the use of the Government’s own property or resources [citing Lyng and Bowen v.

Roy, 476 U.S. 693 (1986)]”). Given Lyng’s impact on the religious practices of

Native American tribes, it would be ironic if the principle on which that decision

is based were not available to the tribes in defending the present system of

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distributing eagle parts from the Repository. Tribal support for the government’s

position in these cases is expressed in the amicus curiae briefs filed by the Hopi

Tribe and the Jicarilla Apache Nation in this consolidated appeal and in the Ute

Tribe’s amicus curiae brief in the original Hardman appeal.

If RFRA does not limit the government’s power to control its own property,

the government’s distribution of eagle parts from the Repository is not in itself

constrained by RFRA. Certainly, if there were no government restrictions on

private possession of eagle feathers, I do not think it could be argued that a

worshipper would have a claim under RFRA on the Repository’s store of

feathers. 2 (This is not to foreclose an argument that distributing the Repository’s

feathers only to recognized tribes would constitute an establishment of religion or

would be a denial of equal protection of the laws.)

Of course, my assumption in the prior paragraph assumes away the

difficulty in this case. Contrary to that assumption, the government prohibits

private possession of eagle parts. Nevertheless, I doubt that even the

juxtaposition of (1) a government ban on possession and (2) a government

2
RFRA includes the sentence: “Granting government funding, benefits, or
exemptions to the extent permissible under the Establishment Clause, shall not
constitute a violation of this chapter.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-4. I am not sure
whether this provision has relevance to the present case. See Douglas Laycock &
Oliver S. Thomas, Interpreting the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 73 Tex. L.
Rev. 209, 238-39 (1994) [hereafter Laycock & Thomas].

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repository of eagle parts creates a claim that failure to share parts from the

Repository with worshippers burdens their exercise of religion, although perhaps

a worshipper could claim that the Repository burdens the worshipper’s exercise of

religion if the Repository acquired eagle parts taken from the worshipper or taken

from lands on which the worshipper has exclusive hunting rights.

Yet even if the operation of the Repository does not burden a worshipper’s

exercise of religion, RFRA may still have an impact on the Repository. The

prohibition on possession of eagle parts is undoubtedly a burden on religious

exercise. RFRA requires that any such burden must be “the least restrictive

means of furthering [the] compelling governmental interest” that justifies the

burden. 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(b)(2). Thus, the second question that arises in

evaluating RFRA’s impact on the Repository is whether access by a worshipper to

the Repository’s eagle parts is necessary to satisfy RFRA’s requirement that the

government employ the least restrictive means in furthering its compelling

interests.

There is very little guidance available on the meaning of “least restrictive

means” in RFRA. The phrase is not defined in the statute or expounded upon in

the Committee reports. The Supreme Court’s Free Exercise cases do not discuss

the meaning. See City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507, 535 (1997) (asserting

that pre-Smith jurisprudence did not use a least-restrictive-means requirement).

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But see Thomas v. Review Bd. of Ind. Employment Sec. Div., 450 U.S. 707, 718

(1981) (stating least-restrictive-means requirement in dictum). After analyzing

RFRA’s compelling-governmental-interest and least-restrictive-means

requirements, one commentary concluded that these provisions are “ambiguous in

very basic ways,” leading to “a dizzying collection of possibilities about [their]

meaning.” Ira C. Lupu, Of Time and the RFRA: A Lawyer’s Guide to the

Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 56 Mont. L. Rev. 171, 197 (1995). Another

article devotes its attention primarily to other language in RFRA, see Laycock &

Thomas, supra, at 221, and limits its discussion of “least restrictive means” to

saying that the government must show “that an exception for religious claimants

would defeat [the government’s] compelling interest.” Id. at 222; cf. id. at 224

(quoting similar tests expressed in Supreme Court opinions).

Perhaps RFRA’s least-restrictive-means test is intended only as a

paraphrase of the test stated in one of the two Supreme Court opinions embraced

in RFRA’s statement of purpose. In Sherbert v. Verner, the Court wrote that the

government must “demonstrate that no alternative forms of regulation would

[accomplish the governmental interest] without infringing First Amendment

rights.” 374 U.S. at 407. In other words, “least restrictive means,” as one would

naturally interpret the phrase, signifies that the imposition by the government on

religious worship must be the minimal imposition to accomplish the government’s

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compelling ends. This appears to be the view expressed in Laycock & Thomas,

supra, at 222.

To hold that the least-restrictive-means requirement provides worshippers

with a right of access to Repository eagle parts would be a substantial expansion

beyond this interpretation of the requirement. There is a qualitative difference

between (1) requiring the government to impose as little burden as possible and

(2) requiring the government to expend resources to offset the loss caused by the

necessary government imposition. One difficulty with an offset requirement is

determining how far the government must go in providing an offset. With respect

to a claim for access to Repository eagle parts, one can ask whether there is any

limiting principle applicable to the claim, short of requiring an immediate grant of

requested eagle parts to a worshipper. How much can be required of the

government to supply eagle parts to worshippers who are prohibited from

obtaining them on their own? Was the 1994 Presidential Memorandum (which

directed an all-out effort to obtain eagle parts) compelled by RFRA? Does the

government have an obligation under RFRA to obtain eagle parts from foreign

sources? Or, reversing directions, does the government have any obligation at all

under RFRA to maintain a repository or to require its agents to look for eagle

carcasses on government land? Retreating to a middle ground, does one just take

as given the quantity of eagle parts that the government has on hand and then

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require that the quantity, whatever it is, be available, in part, to worshippers? As

for this last possibility, RFRA’s least-restrictive-means requirement would create

a peculiar “right” if the government has total discretion regarding how much to

honor it by deciding how much, if any, effort to put into a repository.

No Supreme Court decision requires the government to expend resources to

offset (as opposed to reduce) a permissible burden on an individual’s exercise of

religion. For example, when the Supreme Court upheld Sunday closing laws

against a Free Exercise challenge, despite the financial burden on business owners

who close shop on Saturday to observe their Sabbath, Braunfeld v. Brown, 366

U.S. 599 (1961), there was no discussion of whether the government must pay

such persons to offset the income lost by having to close two days a week when

competitors close shop only on Sunday.

Some Supreme Court Free Exercise cases that might, at first glance, appear

to require a government offset are the unemployment compensation cases, such as

Sherbert. In those cases the government has been required to pay unemployment

compensation to one who loses or quits a job for religious reasons, such as refusal

to work on the Sabbath. But such compensation is not an offset to a burden

imposed on the recipient by the government; the government did not fire the

recipient or order the recipient to work on the Sabbath. Rather, the Supreme

Court has required compensation because to refuse to pay would be the equivalent

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of imposing a fine on the recipient for obeying a religious command. Sherbert,

374 U.S. at 404. Sherbert is properly viewed as simply prohibiting denial of a

generally available benefit on the ground that the person refused to engage in

certain conduct when that conduct would “violate a cardinal principle of her

religious faith.” Id. at 406. In contrast, eagle parts from the National Eagle

Repository are not generally available, and a worshipper is not being denied eagle

parts because of her religious beliefs.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court has at least hinted that the Free

Exercise Clause may require prisons to provide clergy for inmates, Cruz v. Beto,

405 U.S. 319, 322 n.2 (1972) (per curiam). And some authorities have suggested

that the Free Exercise Clause requires the armed forces to provide clergy for

military personnel who could not otherwise attend religious services. E.g.,

Katcoff v. Marsh, 755 F.2d 223, 234 (2d Cir. 1985). Cf. Beerheide v. Suthers,

286 F.3d 1179 (10th Cir. 2002) (requiring prison to provide free kosher meals).

Providing clergy for soldiers or prisoners could be viewed as an offset to the

deprivation of the right of free exercise resulting from necessary constraints on

freedom of movement. But the subject remains unexplored by the Supreme Court.

I raise these issues not to resolve them, but to stress that they are not

resolved by this court today. We need not, should not, and do not decide in these

cases whether RFRA invalidates in any way the operation of the National Eagle

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Repository. That interesting issue must await full briefing and argument in a

proper case.

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