This article originally appeared on WND.com
Guest post by Bob Unruh
“Both times they left without giving a quote.”
Agents and government agencies in Louisiana are being sued for searching private property without the owner's permission.
While many assume that the US Constitution protects property from “unreasonable searches and seizures,” a century-old Supreme Court decision says private lands are not covered by the Constitution.
It's called the “open fields” principle and agents use it to enter a property whenever they want.
However, some states, including Louisiana, have higher standards built into their state constitutions.
This is the focal point of the new conflict that the Institute for Justice is addressing.
“Tom Manuel owns land that he uses to grow timber commercially, as well as recreationally. In December, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) game wardens on two separate occasions entered Tom's land without permission looking for possible hunting violations. Both times they left,” the legal team explained. Without providing any quote.
“The unauthorized searches by state law enforcement struck Tom as a violation of his rights. The Louisiana Constitution states in stark terms that “property” must be secured from “unreasonable search.” . . Or violation of privacy. There is no exception for any government official. Now, Tom is filing a lawsuit against LDWF with the Institute for Justice (IJ), which protects property rights nationwide and has several similar lawsuits in other states.
“The Louisiana Constitution protects all ‘property’ from warrantless searches — and that includes land,” explained IJ attorney James Knight. “This may seem obvious, but the misleading precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court have convinced state officials that they can invade land.” This case seeks to put an end to that and restore the constitutional protections to which landowners in Louisiana deserve.
In neighboring Mississippi, the state's highest court has already ruled that state officials cannot invade private land without a warrant. Other states taking the same stance include Montana, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Vermont and Tennessee.
The “open fields” ideology is used not only by game wardens, but also by police, inspectors, law enforcement officers, immigration officials and others.
The lawsuit calls for a common-sense view of property rights in Louisiana.
“I believe the Louisiana Constitution should mean what it says. While it is important to maintain state hunting laws, the constitutional limits on government power must also be maintained. Wildlife can be protected without compromising our rights to privacy and property. In my experience,” the landowner said. “In land management in both Louisiana and Mississippi, I have seen that wildlife can thrive where government must respect property boundaries.”
Cases making similar arguments are now pending in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
