Courts find warrantless searches by TWRA unconstitutional
BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Two Tennessee courts have now found that game wardens cannot conduct searches on private properties without having a warrant. This comes after two Benton County landowners sued the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) for ignoring their private property signs.
The Institute for Justice took on the lawsuit after landowners Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth had TWRA agents install cameras on their properties.
“I didn’t like it, you know, it’s private property and they were aiming back towards my house and shooting in here,” Rainwaters said. “[It’s] kind of invasion of privacy, you know, cameras huddling your land, watching your movement for no reason.”
Judge rules in favor of landowners in TWRA privacy case
Rainwaters and Hollingsworth sued the TWRA, arguing against warrantless searches on private property. In addition to these privacy rights, the two asked for $1 in damages as compensation for their constitutional rights being violated.
“It’s deeply American to have land; it’s deeply American to use your land and it’s not entitled to any less protection under the Constitution,” said Josh Windham, attorney for the Institute for Justice.
A study conducted by the Institute for Justice found that 96% of the country operates under the Federal Open Fields Doctrine, which does allow land to be searched without a warrant, but late last week, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Jackson reaffirmed that the Tennessee Constitution offers landowners greater protection.
“Any landowner in Tennessee now has the ability because of this decision and the guidance it provides to trigger protection under the state Constitution from these warrantless intrusions, and all they have to do is use their property in some kind of active way. So maybe they farm their property, maybe they fence their property, maybe they post it with ‘No Trespassing’ signs, or they use it for camping, hunting, fishing,” Windham said, adding that the court of appeals judge wanted officers to still be able to access land that maybe lying vacant.
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“One of the more shocking moments to me was when we got a video in discovery in this case, and the video was of game wardens entering one of my client’s properties, hiding behind a bush wearing camouflage, and recording a video of my client and his friends while they were hunting,” Windham recalled. “And that’s not just creepy, it’s extremely dangerous.”
The Institute for Justice is in the process of fighting for similar rights for landowners in other states, including Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
The TWRA issued the following statement to News 2:
“At the onset of this legal matter, the agency voluntarily implemented a landowner consent process to enter private property and officers have already received additional training on obtaining search warrants when appropriate.
The Agency will continue to serve the sportsmen and women of our state by fulfilling its statutory public trust responsibility of protecting wildlife populations. The Agency is also committed to preventing poaching and illegal activity on both public and private property.
The Agency is carefully reviewing the Court’s Opinion and will consult with the Attorney General’s Office in the coming days.”
Emily Buck, Director of Communication and Marketing, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
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