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Published: Mon, July 14, 2008 - 5:19 pm GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A federal appeals court says it will not hold a former Gulf Coast sheriff liable for an honest mistake in destroying plants that resembled marijuana but were found to be deer bait. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a federal judge in Mississippi who in 2005 threw out property owner Marion Waltman's lawsuit against then-Harrison County Sheriff George H. Payne Junior. Waltman sought damages from Payne for the destruction of 500 kenaf plants grown as deer food on land he leased for a hunting club. Payne says it was an honest mistake when he and other law officers destroyed what they thought were marijuana plants. A federal judge ruled Payne was acting within his official capacity and within the scope of discretionary authority. The 5th Circuit agreed,... [read full story]
