Tennessee Judges Declare Warrantless Searches on Private Land Unconstitutional

BY Herschel Smith
2 months, 1 week ago

Outdoor Life.

A recent court ruling in Tennessee restricts some of the powers that the state’s game wardens have traditionally held when policing hunters and anglers on private land. According to that ruling, which was handed down by a Court of Appeals on Thursday, wildlife officers can no longer enter private property to monitor, look for, or otherwise investigate wildlife crimes without a warrant.

[ … ]

These powers are summarized in a Tennessee law that allows officers with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency “to go upon any property, outside of buildings, posted or otherwise” in order to enforce wildlife laws.

In its unanimous decision, a panel of three judges determined that the state’s game wardens were taking these powers too far, and that the current statute allowing for warrantless searches on posted private property is unconstitutional as applied by TWRA. The judges even drew comparisons between TWRA’s past actions and the tyrannies colonial Americans were subjected to under British rule.

“The TWRA searches, which it claims are reasonable, bear a marked resemblance to the arbitrary discretionary entries of customs officials more than two centuries ago in colonial Boston,” the judges wrote in their decision. “The TWRA’s contention is a disturbing assertion of power on behalf of the government that stands contrary to the foundations of the search protections against arbitrary governmental intrusions in the American legal tradition, generally, and in Tennessee, specifically.”

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Benton County Circuit Court by two Tennessee landowners, Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth …

The defense cites the so-called open fields doctrine, of course.

In defending the agency’s actions, attorneys representing TWRA argued that because so much hunting takes place on private land in Tennessee, officers would be unable to protect the state’s wildlife resources if they couldn’t patrol these lands. They also cited the “Open Fields Doctrine,” a federal precedent set during the Prohibition era …

That’s a great point. The open fields doctrine which comes from Hester v. The U.S., where it was held that these intrusions don’t violate the fourth or fifth amendments.

1. In a prosecution for concealing spirits, admission of testimony of revenue officers as to finding moonshine whiskey in a broken jug and other vessels near the house where the defendant resided and as to suspicious occurrences in that vicinity at the time of their visit, held not violative of the Fourth or Fifth Amendments, even though the witnesses held no warrant and were trespassers on the land, the matters attested being merely acts and disclosures of defendant and his associates outside the house. P. 265 U. S. 58.

2. The protection accorded by the Fourth Amendment to the people in their “persons, houses, papers, and effects,” does not extend to open fields.

Affirmed.

This case occurred in the western district of South Carolina.

Isn’t that special? The revenuers wanted to collect money from untaxed liquor, so the Supreme Court held that they can go on a man’s private property.

That is now used as a pretext for game officers invading a man’s property and installing cameras, walking around, or doing essentially whatever they want to.

The main point here isn’t what’s happening to game on the land. The main point is that these powers have been given to game officers and tax collectors. The main question is this: do you want game officers with that much freedom and control over you or anyone else? If so, perhaps we should grant police the power to ignore the constitution in all other cases. After all, what’s the difference between untaxed liquor and game animals and any other thing? Just apply the open fields doctrine to everything, everywhere.

Because money. It belongs to the king. And only the king’s men can hunt the royal forests – or those who pay him. All lands are the royal forests.

Except now in Tennessee, apparently.

Good.


Comments

  1. On May 16, 2024 at 5:26 am, jrg said:

    That is good news. When crossing a private property line, an officer should be able to say WHY crossing the line was required at this time (i.e. a shot made during off hours was heard by a neighbor and the game official was attempting to catch someone in the act). Otherwise, it is legal trespassing to allow them to cross at any time, any reason and attain evidence to make an arrest.

    Responsible hunters are against poaching as much or more than the general public. There has to be some way to gain cooperation with the landowner in catching the poacher(s).

  2. On May 16, 2024 at 8:00 am, Frank Clarke said:

    I come here to learn. It seems that I am made aware of a new (to me) SCOTUS ruling every month or so.

    Then my friends and acquaintances look at me wide-eyed. “How do you KNOW all this stuff?” and I tell them “I read and I follow news sources that aren’t in your repertoire.”

    Thank you.

  3. On May 16, 2024 at 8:30 am, Don't mind me. said:

    “If you can read this, you’re in range”
    “Trespassers will be violated”
    “Caution, Argentine Dogo training facility”
    And other signage has the remarkable effect of soliciting a polite phone call from the (insert public servant agency here) before they trespass on your property.
    They can have as many rules as they want. We just have to keep finding ways to remediate them extrajudicially.

  4. On May 17, 2024 at 8:05 am, Latigo Morgan said:

    Was this related to the case where Game and Fish put game cameras on the guy’s property and he either moved/took them or destroyed them, and then got charged with something stupid like “destruction of government property”? Even though he had no idea who placed game cameras on his property, and thought it might be poachers.

  5. On May 17, 2024 at 8:06 pm, X said:

    “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

    “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof… shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

    Period, end of discussion.

  6. On May 17, 2024 at 10:34 pm, Longbow said:

    Cop worshipers… think about this. These game agents have been trampling on people’s property rights for decades. They have done it because they believe they can. Up until just now, if you tried to assert your property rights they WOULD tell you “Too fuckin’ bad, Civilian. We’ll do anything we want to do because we can.”

    Does that attitude describe a Good Man? Does it describe a man who truly believes he is bound by his Constitutional Oath?

    Do you still believe in Dudley DoRight?

  7. On May 18, 2024 at 6:23 pm, Allen said:

    Robin Hood would approve.

  8. On May 20, 2024 at 5:16 am, Joe Blow said:

    There are many reasons I moved myself and my family to Tennessee many years ago. We decided it was time for us to leave NY, and the entire country was an option for us. We chose Tennessee. For the most part, the people here have their head on straight. They’ll pass laws and allows officers some latitude, but they’re not stupid, either. They banned Chemtrails in this state legislature, too, and ya know what, I finally see normal clouds again! Don’t think they’re real? Brother, you should see my sky… it doesn’t have grid pattern lines on it anymore!

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You are currently reading "Tennessee Judges Declare Warrantless Searches on Private Land Unconstitutional", entry #36641 on The Captain's Journal.

This article is filed under the category(s) Hunting,Police and was published May 15th, 2024 by Herschel Smith.

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