State Supreme Court will limit warrantless private land searches
The state Supreme Court in a divided ruling last week concluded that property owners who take steps to protect their privacy should be afforded greater protection against warrantless searches by game wardens. The ruling came after a years-long dispute between game wardens and two hunting clubs in Indiana County and largely centers on whether Pennsylvania law differs from federal “open fields doctrine” indicating that outside areas do not have the same right to privacy as the interior of buildings. Justice Kevin Brobson, who authored the opinion, noted that over the years, wardens ...
