The Orchid Thief

Orlean outlines more details about Laroche’s court case and explains why he was found guilty. At the same time, she discusses the history of the Seminole Tribe in Florida, focusing on the historical figure of Osceola and the tribe’s current chief, James Billie.

A few weeks after Orlean met with Moore, the judge in Laroche’s case announced her decision. She fined his three Seminole assistants $100 each but did not adjudge their guilt. She fined Laroche $500 and banned him from the Fakahatchee for a further six months. Laroche had done his research into the rights of the Seminole Tribe, which made them exempt from laws regarding endangered species, but he was playing legal chess with Randy Merrill, the state’s attorney. Merrill knew this exemption could jeopardize his case. However, Laroche and his assistants had taken the orchids from a state park, and Florida state law forbade anyone from taking any plants or animals—endangered or not—from a state park. This was simply an administrative rule, and there were no exemptions for Seminoles. This is what Merrill pursued so there would be no need for the judge to try to interpret the role of the exemption.

The author then explains the origins and history of the Seminole Tribe in Florida.