Posted on 05/11/2024 10:54:00 AM PDT by CFW
In December 2022, Reason reported that both state and federal wildlife agents routinely trespass onto private land and plant cameras. Two Tennessee homeowners successfully sued the state over the practice, and a three-judge panel ruled in their favor. The state appealed the decision, and this week the court of appeals ruled in the homeowners' favor.
At issue is a state law allowing officers of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) to "go upon any property, outside of buildings, posted or otherwise," in order to "enforce all laws relating to wildlife." In the case of Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth, TWRA officers not only entered their respective properties but also installed trail cameras to look for hunting violations, all without a warrant and ignoring "No Trespassing" signs. A lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice (I.J.) on behalf of Rainwaters and Hollingsworth asked the court to declare the law unconstitutional and issue an injunction against the TWRA, barring it from carrying out any further unwarranted intrusions.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Never have understood why a landowner needs a license to hunt and fish on his own land.
“Never have understood why a landowner needs a license to hunt and fish on his own land.”
Because the wildlife belongs to the King.
You don’t here in Alabama.Your land is your land here.
Fantastic ruling. It has been a long time coming.
Strange. I didn’t know homeowners had rights!
-PJ
What? The birth control decision is a precedent in this case? If so, the law is a really convoluted thing.
It’s called trespass...pure and simple. Why did it even go to court?
Good!
Do property owners have to pay property taxes in Al.? If so then you don't own your land, you rent it from the sovereign.
Because precedent had been set where the land did not have fences, obvious boundaries, or No Trespass signs.
The Agencies tried to push that precedent to land which had fences, obvious boundaries and/or No Trespass signs.
Griswold is the decision that created the phrase “penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance.”
The 3rd amendment protection from quartering soldiers in peacetime was one of those "guarantees" cited in Griswold that defined "zones of privacy" where people are free from agents of the state.
One example of such a "zone of privacy" would be if agents from child protective services kept harassing home schooling parents by making repeated surprise appearances at people's homes with no other probable cause than home schooling. In that same vein, these agents posting cameras on someone's private property to look for hunting violations as if they "lived there," would be a similar violation.
-PJ
In my mind...if it's not mine...I don't belong there. The law is suppose to protect me...not the trespasser.
Land rights are sketchy at best... And governments have rights to go on your property. It’s sad and infuriating, but true and when and if this is appealed to a higher court and ultimately to the Supreme Court, the state will eventually win.
Never been a problem on our farm.
Don’t believe an landowner in Tennessee has to get a license, nobody in my family has been asked to show one.
Of course we could always pull out the “nuisance animal” card that we would claim was a danger or injurious to our crops, cattle.
“ Under the “open-fields doctrine,” Supreme Court precedent dating back to Prohibition holds that undeveloped land on someone’s property lacks the same rigorous Fourth Amendment protections as their home and the “curtilage,” the area immediately surrounding the home.”
Revenuers needed to find those whiskey stills. Bad policy makes bad law. They created a doctrine solely to find a way to catch moonshiners.
If you ever have any doubts about who owns what, just don’t pay your property taxes and you will quickly find out who the owner is.
Give them an inch...Why not plant microphones on the property as well? Sure the FBI would like to know what’s being said so they can plan a little “visit.” The law itself sounds like a violation of the 4th, but it’s no surprise given the proliferation of so-called “red flag” laws..
Flaming Conservative wrote: “Never have understood why a landowner needs a license to hunt and fish on his own land.”
Not required in Alabama. A landowner and immediate family can hunt on property they own w/o license. Must be able to prove it’s their property, drivers license or other proof of residency.
I’m sure it varies state to state.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.