Quote:
Originally Posted by Brush Okie
Sounds pretty slim to me. IMHO it was a bad call by the court and could be another chipping away of our rights.
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Hunting and fishing are privileges that can be taken away. There is no right there.
On the other hand, if you are referring to the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, I can tell you there is a lot of gray area. As you can see, if you read the document that the court was weighing several needs.
I work in Colorado and can tell you that our laws are somewhat similar, but the intent of the 4th Amendment is adhered to very rigorously. I am not going to armchair quarterback what this warden did because I was not there with him and didn't see what he saw. Even the documentation given doesn't really paint the entire picture of what actually occurred. For many reasons cited in this document officers in my profession are given additional latitude due the nature of the environment in which we work. However, just because you might be able to do something does not necessarily mean that you ought to. It is all a balance and ties should go to your civil rights as a citizen of this country.
Poaching is no grand accomplishment. Wildlife crime is very easy to perpetrate and evidence is also easily destroyed. Also, I can tell you that wildlife laws are rarely seen as being as "important" as other laws. The dumb ones usually get caught relatively quickly. The smart ones just take a little more time. I have seen my share of grown men cry with snot half way down to their belt line. No class is immune (i.e. everyday criminals, really bad guys, regular guys, cops, soldiers (I was almost shot by one on 9/12/01), judges, clergy); we've caught them all. Having a few tricks up your sleeve that are santioned by the courts are necessary to be able to make a case on individuals who are having a major impact on your resources.
Whomever stated that this is a thankless job is correct. That's ok. We didn't get into it because of the fame or the money. We do it because we care about wildlife. Remember, cops sometimes die protecting other people. Some of us die protecting animals.
FWIW
RB