Game Warden Power ?

[jim7711]

First let me start by saying that I hunt & fish "by the book". I've never had any fish/wildlife violations even though I've been "checked" many times. Which brings me to my question. After looking through title 29 it is my understanding that game wardens have the same powers - no more, no less - than any other law officer, but Game wardens have been stopping me since I was a kid to "check" my license, guns, etc without ANY reason to suspect that I have broken any law.

So, can a person refuse to show a hunting license and/or hand over a gun to be checked for a plug etc if the warden is just "checking" and doesnt have any reason to suspect a crime has been committed? Did I miss something in the law that allows Game wardens special powers to just stop anyone that is hunting and "check" them?

 

[AllOut]

A GW use of PC is a little more broad then a normal officer.
Just the fact you are hunting/fishing is all the PC they need. Kinda like a DUI check point, the act of driving in a certain place at a certain time is PC for them to check you.

 

[Jeremy1971]

That is actually a really good question. The fact that you are hunting doesn't mean you are hunting without a license. There would almost have to be a provision in the law for this type of activity. I bet there are game wardens on the site that can probably answer that. I bet it is some type of Case Law decision that gives them this type of power.

 

[jim7711]

I just found this from an article where they were interviewing John Streich, chief of law enforcement for the Oklahoma Wildlife Department in 1996.

In other words, wardens are allowed by law, and supported by case law, to enter upon private property or stop citizens and make reasonable inquires into their activities when the circumstances and/or citizens' actions lead the wardens to believe that a violation of the law has occurred or is occurring.

Streich also said that the circumstances and/or actions of the citizens' can vary widely from one incident to another. For example, the sole act of shining a light out of the window of a vehicle may be sufficient cause for a reasonable person to assume a violation is, or will, occur. In another instance, merely driving slowly down a county road would not be sufficient cause to assume a violation will occur. However, the situation again changes if the warden observes someone driving slowly, constantly braking, repeatedly backing up or turning into driveways or pointing a firearm out of the vehicle

I dont know if this still applies but it sounds like to me that they dont have the power to just stop people without good cause to suspect a law is being or about to be broken. This was 1996 though.

 

[AllOut]

I've seen and heard things about GW being able to search "containers" that could hold animal parts. Ice chests, freezers etc without warrent. Meaning they can come into your house, vehicle, boat etc just off of PC. Not sure how true all that stuff really is but we've all heard it.
We do have one GW on this board, maybe he'll shine some light on this.

A few things Id like to bring up also in this. Look at GW and Lake Patrol. I've seen them search boats on the water and at the boat ramp with no PC. Hell I was at Toppers one day and there were 2 or 3 Lake Patrol going through every boat that was loading, checking for everything. Horn, life jackets EVERYTHING!
On top of that, writing tickets to guys for stuff like not enough life jackets. Even though the boat wasn't even in the water yet.
It was a mandatory search....
How is that legal???

 

[AllOut]

I've also heard GW make up bogus reasons to search someone too.
Duck hunting a WDU a long time ago. GW sitting at the gate, checked everyone's birds, shells, plug and licenses on the way out. Had multiple excuses why he was checking each one too. "I was setting back with Binos watching and it looked like XXXXXXXX."


Personally, I like most GW. I like to see them out checking that way we know they are doing their job. They have a tough job to do so I'm not gonna raise a fuss if one wants to see my license or check my bag just to make sure.

 

[jim7711]

Personally, I like most GW. I like to see them out checking that way we know they are doing their job. They have a tough job to do so I'm not gonna raise a fuss if one wants to see my license or check my bag just to make sure.

Ya, I agree. I actually want them around the property I hunt as much as possible.

 

[AllOut]

Ya, I agree. I actually want them around the property I hunt as much as possible.

Same here. I actually call/talk to the GW around my lease often. Give him a heads up about stuff I see going on and see if he's seen anything to keep an eye out for.
The last few years we've had a huge influx of oil/gas wells going in around us and the rough necks are really bad about poaching. Me and him talked about setting up the decoy on our place. But we never got around to it.

Which is another thing they do that im not sure I agree with though. To me thats Entrapment.

 

[excat]

Which is another thing they do that im not sure I agree with though. To me thats Entrapment.

Only if you break the law....

 

[turkeyrun]

A friend told me about his cousin (who I also knew) who was always talking to the local GWs and calling in on suspicious activity he had seen while hunting and fishing. Therefore, the GW never searched his boat / truck / camp. He was known by his family and friends for his poaching.

Ii have asked different GWs the question posed by OP. They all said, "finding a violation , Judges gave them must leeway." Lib judges liked painting ALL hunters as poachers and Pro hunting judges love throwing the book at violators.