Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth own rural properties along the Big Sandy River in Camden, Tennessee. Their properties are their sanctuaries. Terry lives on his property, and both have used their land to farm, camp, and hunt (with state-issued hunting licenses). Neither property is open to the public, and both have âNo Trespassingâ signs on their front gates. But for years, state officials have treated Terryâs and Hunterâs private landsâalong with othersâ in the areaâas if they were public property. Now, Terry and Hunter are suing to protect Tennesseansâ property and privacy rights.
https://ij.org/case/tennessee-open-fields/
Officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) routinely enter private land on a whim to search for potential hunting violations. They donât have probable cause to believe a crime is being committed, and they donât ask permission from either property owners or a court. Instead, they trespass, wander around as they please, and take photos and videos. They even install cameras so they can keep watching the properties 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
TWRA thinks it can get away with such creepy surveillance because the U.S. Supreme Court wrongly held that the U.S. Constitutionâs protections against unreasonable searches donât apply to âopen fields.â But the Tennessee Constitution prohibits state officials from barging in whenever they wish. Thatâs why Terry and Hunter have teamed up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to sue TWRA in Tennessee state court: to vindicate the right of all Tennesseans to be free from unconstitutional searches.
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