George Meninock

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Charge:	Fishing violation
Sentence:	$10 fine
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1916
Year Convicted:	1920
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Washington
County or Region of Crime:	Benton
City of Crime:	Prosser
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Posthumously
Summary of Case:	"George Meninock was 76 years old when he was wrongly convicted on February 18, 1920 in Benton County, Washington of violating Washington State's Fisheries Code. Meninock, a member of the Yakima Indian Nation, was arrested in 1916 for fishing at his family’s traditional site within 400 feet of the just-built Prosser Dam. That right, he argued through a translator, was protected by the Yakama Nation’s 1855 treaty that he had watched 14 chiefs, including his father, sign with Washington Territory Gov. Issac Stevens. After his conviction Meninock was fined $10. The Washington State Supreme Court accepted review of the convictions of Meninock and three other members of the Yakima Nation convicted of the same offense -- Jim Wallehey, Al Barnhardt, and A. J. Barnhardt. In a precedent setting decision, the Court ruled en banc on April 22, 1921 that notwithstading treaty reservation of the right to fish, members of Indian Nations are subject to state fishing laws. In 1974 the landmark federal court Boldt Decision, affirmed that treaty rights entitled Northwest tribes to half the harvest on all traditional fishing grounds, not just on reservations. In 2014 Washington enacted a state law (SHB 2080 - "Vacating Convictions for Certain Tribal Fishing Activities") permitting all Indian tribal members convicted of misdemeanor or felony fishing related crimes prior to 1975 to apply for expungement of their conviction. The bill authorized a family member or tribal representative to apply to vacate a conviction on behalf of a deceased tribal member. After the law was enacted Meninock's 81-year-old great-nephew, Johnson Meninick, submitted a petition in the Benton County Superior Court to posthumously vacate Meninock's 1920 conviction. In November 2015 the petiton was granted, making Meninock the first person to have his pre-1975 fishing related conviction overturned."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"In 2015 a petition was submitted in the Benton County Superior Court to posthumously vacate Meninock's 1920 conviction. In November 2015 the petiton was granted, making Meninock the first person to have his pre-1975 fishing related conviction overturned."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Native American (Indian)
Information Source 1:	"Court overturns nearly century-old conviction ?for fishing at traditional Yakama location, By Kate Prengaman (Staff writer), Yakima Herald (Yakima, Wash.), November 8, 2015"
Information Location 1:	http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/court-overturns-nearly-century-old-conviction-for-fishing-at-traditional/article_365236fc-85eb-11e5-b91c-87d9fd2d7255.html
Information Source 2:	"State v. Meninock, et al., 115 Wash. 528; 197 P. 641; 1921 Wash. LEXIS 765 (Wash. Sup. Ct., 4-22-1921) (Affirming convictions of illegal fishing by the four native American appellants, George Meninock, Jim Wallehey, Al Barnhardt, and A. J. Barnhardt)"
Information Location 2:	http://www.ccrh.org/comm/river/legal/meninock.htm
Information Source 3:	"Bill would clear convictions during 60s fish-ins, By Phuong Le (Associated Press), The Washington Times, January 14, 2014"
Information Location 3:	http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/14/bill-would-clear-convictions-during-60s-fish-ins/?page=all
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George Meninock

Charge:

Fishing violation

Sentence:

$10 fine

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1916

Year Convicted:

1920

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Washington

County or Region of Crime:

Benton

City of Crime:

Prosser

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Posthumously

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"In 2015 a petition was submitted in the Benton County Superior Court to posthumously vacate Meninock's 1920 conviction. In November 2015 the petiton was granted, making Meninock the first person to have his pre-1975 fishing related conviction overturned."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Native American (Indian)

Information Source 1:

"Court overturns nearly century-old conviction ?for fishing at traditional Yakama location, By Kate Prengaman (Staff writer), Yakima Herald (Yakima, Wash.), November 8, 2015"

Information Location 1:

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/court-overturns-nearly-century-old-conviction-for-fishing-at-traditional/article_365236fc-85eb-11e5-b91c-87d9fd2d7255.html

Information Source 2:

"State v. Meninock, et al., 115 Wash. 528; 197 P. 641; 1921 Wash. LEXIS 765 (Wash. Sup. Ct., 4-22-1921) (Affirming convictions of illegal fishing by the four native American appellants, George Meninock, Jim Wallehey, Al Barnhardt, and A. J. Barnhardt)"

Information Location 2:

http://www.ccrh.org/comm/river/legal/meninock.htm

Information Source 3:

"Bill would clear convictions during 60s fish-ins, By Phuong Le (Associated Press), The Washington Times, January 14, 2014"

Information Location 3:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/14/bill-would-clear-convictions-during-60s-fish-ins/?page=all

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