(WND)—A court is being asked to act against state officials who bypass the requirements of their own state constitution.
The situation is that while the Alabama Constitution “makes it clear that if the government wants to come searching on your property, they need a warrant based on probable cause,” agents from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources simply cite a statute to ignore that requirement.
The Institute for Justice now is working with three Alabama residents to sue over the practice that has agents invading and searching private property not only without a warrant, but without consent.
The plaintiffs are Killen residents Dalton Boley and Regina Williams and Muscle Shoals resident Dale Liles, who all took action after facing “multiple” privacy intrusions by game wardens.
None ever has been charged with hunting violations, “yet game wardens have snooped around on their properties without warrants on multiple occasions. That’s because of an Alabama statute that allows game wardens to ‘enter upon any land … in the performance of their duty.’ Whether it’s a posted field or residential yard, the statute gives wardens broad power to roam around private property without any warrant,” the IJ said.
But, IJ lawyer Suranjan Sen explained, “The Alabama Constitution makes it clear that if the government wants to come searching on your property, they need a warrant based on probable cause, and game wardens are not exempt from the Constitution.”
Williams owns 10 acres in Killen and had used it for decades, but as she aged she gave her neighbor, Boley, and his family permission to use it.
Then the game wardens arrived.
“This used to be a place where I could come to relax and get away from it all, but now that I know someone could be snooping around, I find it hard to just go there and relax,” said Boley, who has faced unsubstantiated accusations from the agents.
“In Muscle Shoals, Dale owns and leases a combined 86 acres with sprawling fields, marshes and swamps. Unlike Dalton and Regina, Dale does use his land for hunting with his kids and grandkids. There are two entrances to the land: a private gravel road and a gated entrance. Dale first saw a game warden’s truck parked on his land in August 2018. He tried to talk to the warden, but he sped away,” the IJ said.
The game wardens appeared later again.
A trail camera then caught yet another game warden on the land.
“I’m all about preserving our wildlife and great outdoors—that’s why I’m the president of my local Ducks Unlimited chapter. But game wardens still have to respect people’s rights,” said Liles. “Aside from my own privacy concerns, I don’t like that the wardens don’t wear orange when they’re roaming around. It makes it very dangerous when you’re hunting with rifles and people aren’t wearing colors that make them easy to see.”
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