Un-reasonable Suspicion

Wardens in the U.S.A. can stop your vehicle and ask if you are hunting or fishing. If you have been hunting or fishing then they can ask for your license, tag, etc. They can search your car looking for animal parts. Wardens can enter private property under open fields doctrine. Wardens can enter buildings and house to search potential storage locations (freezer, fridge) and look around for mounts, pelts, etc.

Warrants are not needed to do the above. They may be accompanied by LEO for their protection. There have been abuses in the past were LEO have used the "cover" of accompanying wardens on searches and then the LEO look for things not related to animal parts. If something is in plain sight, LEO can take action. Without a warrant.

State and Federal courts have sided with wardens for almost 100 years beginning with the "open fields" doctrine and then expanded the warden's reach to include inside vehicles and buildings.

Is it fair? Well, them is the rules. Fair is where you go to see the carnival rides. If the warden shows up with LEO then I, as a relatively good person, would smile and dial my lawyer to deal with documenting what was done. A couple of phone calls and I should not be bothered again presuming I am a good guy and someone was relying on bad information or had an axe to grind. Clean living has its perks.
 
They would need a warrant, no matter what state you are in, as no state can make a law to circumvent the rights granted to you by the constitution. For law enforcement to legally search your house, unless you are on some sort of modified release (parole/probation), or you gave them permission, they need a warrant signed by a judge. There are exceptions to the search warrant rule for vehicles because of their transient nature and evidence in vehicles can be "fleeting", but there is no search warrant exception for residences, even for game wardens (a man's house is his castle).

They would need probable cause to enter your residence and conduct a search, and that probable cause would have to be reviewed and approved by a judge in the form of a search warrant. The only time you will see a house entered by law enforcement (without a warrant and without some sort of modified release terms on the occupant of the residence) is for exigent circumstances. Even under "exigent circumstances" they can only act to preserve life, they cannot search/seize. Though if they see something illegal during the preserving of life, and it is in plain view, rest assured they will seek a warrant.

What you described, if that is the entirety of the incident, is an illegal search. Any evidence located would be quickly suppressed by any competent court as "fruits of the poisonous tree". Additionally a violation of your 4th amendment rights as blatant as that would open the warden's agency to civil liability.

Like others have said, I believe there is more to the story as law enforcement does not routinely, blatantly, violate individuals rights as plainly as described, because they have been sued into oblivion for it. However, if it is as you described, it is pure idiocy on the part of the lawman and you should secure a competent criminal and civil attorney because you have yourself a payday.
 
Last edited:
Ditto,
I worked with them for years,my best friend for 35 yrs was a CA warden and they have a greater latitude of PC than many and most LEO's,and discretion of said use.
As stated above a warden with local LEO is common practice.

A whole story to go with the story would help.
 
Something must not be right...... And the last thing I would do in this position is air it out on a public forum. mtmuley
 
hank4elk said:
Ditto,
I worked with them for years,my best friend for 35 yrs was a CA warden and they have a greater latitude of PC than many and most LEO's,and discretion of said use.
As stated above a warden with local LEO is common practice.

A whole story to go with the story would help.
Click to expand...

And a lawyer!
 
I had some work published by Larry Dablemont in his Lightnin' Ridge publication. My rebel buddy started having his 90 year old ma cut out his weekly columns as I became a fan of his magazine and mostly of his political guts. I was fascinated when he took a tangent on MO warden abuses of the public, and got really interested in just what all the public will tolerate from a gun and a badge. I had a large number of incidents from local and personal experience.
Some of these were atrocious on both sides, those are not my subject matter, I'm willing to give some leeway to the badge, but ( my personal opinion ) there better damn well be an arrest after the dust settles. My interest is in the other ones, where there is no lawbreaking.

Any way after reading a bunch of hillbilly horror stories I started outlining and fleshing out my own experiences and first person accounts that I was able to positively verify, I realized it was not "article length" but more like "chapter" or even "book" length.

I am not here for legal advice, when I pee in the snow it leaves a white stain upon it...

Antelope hunter- interesting post- most interesting 3 words in it... Ax to grind... Many dull axes out there in warden land.

I mis- spoke quite certain it was area mgr. Trying to research it froze up my internet connection but there were more than 4 of the symbols so it must have been areas not regions... my bad.
 
squirrel said:
I had some work published by Larry Dablemont in his Lightnin' Ridge publication. My rebel buddy started having his 90 year old ma cut out his weekly columns as I became a fan of his magazine and mostly of his political guts. I was fascinated when he took a tangent on MO warden abuses of the public, and got really interested in just what all the public will tolerate from a gun and a badge. I had a large number of incidents from local and personal experience.
Some of these were atrocious on both sides, those are not my subject matter, I'm willing to give some leeway to the badge, but ( my personal opinion ) there better damn well be an arrest after the dust settles. My interest is in the other ones, where there is no lawbreaking.

Any way after reading a bunch of hillbilly horror stories I started outlining and fleshing out my own experiences and first person accounts that I was able to positively verify, I realized it was not "article length" but more like "chapter" or even "book" length.

I am not here for legal advice, when I pee in the snow it leaves a white stain upon it...

Antelope hunter- interesting post- most interesting 3 words in it... Ax to grind... Many dull axes out there in warden land.

I mis- spoke quite certain it was area mgr. Trying to research it froze up my internet connection but there were more than 4 of the symbols so it must have been areas not regions... my bad.
Click to expand...

I'll ask again. Where exactly in Colorado?
 
It is not material to the discussion but I will send via pm oh shooter of small ones. And yes this is a perfect medium for my goal of judging what the hunting public will tolerate and what would they do when their tolerance is exceeded. I have no illusions of correcting cpw's behavior. This is , after all an agency where an agent jack-lighted a Sampson buck and he kept his job. If they will tolerate poaching criminals as employees, what would over zealous enforcement get you??? Warden of the year honors would be my guess.
 
I asked my buddy who is a warden and he agreed completely with Honey Badger. They do NOT have any more latitude than other forms of LE. Note, they ARE law enforcement.

I have never had a bad experience with one...just routine checks with guys doing their jobs.
 
squirrel said:
It is not material to the discussion but I will send via pm oh shooter of small ones. And yes this is a perfect medium for my goal of judging what the hunting public will tolerate and what would they do when their tolerance is exceeded. I have no illusions of correcting cpw's behavior. This is , after all an agency where an agent jack-lighted a Sampson buck and he kept his job. If they will tolerate poaching criminals as employees, what would over zealous enforcement get you??? Warden of the year honors would be my guess.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. I am not familiar with, or know anyone in that particular area. However, I would offer up that I have lived and hunted in 7 western states and Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been, by a long shot, the most helpful/friendly/professional wildlife management agency I have had experience with. No, they are not perfect, but what government agency is. If your claims of foul play are true, I would highly doubt that the personnel involved would last with agency very long. Good luck.
 
In MT a game warden needs a search warrant. While I was working for FWP, I remember a game warden that was cited for trespassing because he never obtained permission to be there.
 
In most states GWs can do what guys have mentioned when you are out in the field or in a hunting camp or at check stations along the highway. However, they have no more power or right to come onto private property to search a home, vehicle, etc. UNLESS they have a warrant to do so. From what the OP said I doubt that any of the searches were legal because if they have probable cause that can be produced they take that information and legally have to obtain a search warrant. That search warrant then allows them to legally enter and search whether you like it or not. I'd be talking to a lawyer and stop that BS right now if what the OP mentioned is going on.
 
I've somehow managed to hunt and fish in 6 states,in the last 30 years and never once has any of them felt the need to search my home.

I need to pick up my game.;)
 
I've had some interactions with game wardens and for the most part they are very pleasant to deal with.

I did have an interaction with one when he came into the situation thinking I was guilty and it was not near as pleasant of an interaction. He was positive that I was shooting without a plug because he heard 4 shots instead of 3. I was shooting an over under shotgun and I was by myself. He just knew there was either someone else with me hiding somewhere or I had a semi-auto gun that wasn't plugged stashed somewhere.

He walked around on my property and came pretty close to flat out accusing me for almost 30 minutes before he told me to have a good day and left.

It was amazing how the different the interaction was when he came into the situation knowing that I was guilty when in fact I wasn't. I still have no idea what he heard, but I know I'm not that fast at reloading.
 
Perhaps the OP is on probation for something. If that's the case any law enforcement can search his property at any time.
Like a few of us have already said there is more to this story than we are being told.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mdcrossbow
Should of just sat down......
Replies
10
Views
1K
mdcrossbow
mdcrossbow
E
Lessons learned: hunting partners
2
Replies
36
Views
6K
tormenter
T
blueridge
The ambiguity of theft and failure of enforcement
7 8 9
Replies
163
Views
15K
WyoDoug
WyoDoug
Cav1
The Lost Art of the Shooting Sling 2
2
Replies
22
Views
7K
Mustangs Rule
M
A
Draw tag required to hunt landowner ground
Replies
7
Views
2K
antelopedundee
antelopedundee
PEAX Trekking Poles

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
113,585
Messages
2,026,006
Members
36,238
Latest member
3Wapiti

Share this page

Back
Top