Lawsuit Alleging Fish and Wildlife Officers Trespassed, Set up Secret Cameras on Private Land May Proceed, Judge Says

A bid by the state of Tennessee to dismiss a lawsuit over spying by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency on private property has been rejected by a judge.

The dispute is over the state agencies posting of cameras on private property without permission to surveil hunting activities. . .

Landowners Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth joined with the Institute for Justice to sue the state for “ignoring their ‘No Trespassing’ signs by entering and installing cameras on their land.”

“Private land is not open to public officers,” said IJ Attorney Joshua Windham. “We look forward to Tennessee’s courts declaring once and for all that the Tennessee Constitution does not allow the government to conduct warrantless surveillance of private property.”

The state has claimed a century-old “open fields” doctrine gives its officials the right to use private land. (Read more from “Lawsuit Alleging Fish and Wildlife Officers Trespassed, Set up Secret Cameras on Private Land May Proceed, Judge Says” HERE)

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