Originally Posted By: 6724Originally Posted By: bigsky_songdogsOriginally Posted By: RadioOriginally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: RaspackMy question is, does he have the authority to open a closed vehicle and start pulling weapons out, that were NOT visible from the outside, and inspecting them?
In my opinion, the answer is yes.
And here is the reason he did:
Originally Posted By: Raspack As the warden drove up and got out of his vehicle he said he would like to check licenses, any game we had taken and wanted to check guns. We both showed the requested paperwork and pulled the few dove from the ice chest. He then proceeded to open the back door of the truck and start pulling guns from the vehicle.
Your paperwork and doves were evidence you and your friend were hunting, so he had a legal right to check the guns used to take the doves.
In my opinion, he should have shown a little common courtesy and requested your consent first.
Agree with the above. Also the weapons were in plain sight if looking in the vehicle from outside, so it was not an illegal search by any stretch of the imagination. Pretty rude of him, but he was within his powers. You sure he wasn't one of the "Full of myself" agents on the TV show?
This is a state by state issue. That crap might fly in the communist republic of CA but not in MT. Checking licenses , animals, etc is fine but here atleast a Warden has no authority to check a vehicle without permission, a search warrant, or exigent circumstances that would have to be articulated well to constitute a lawful search.
i would have to agree, in colorado your vehicle is considered an extension of your home. just because i have a fresh elk head in front of the house or in the garage, does not mean that the warden can walk freely into my house to check guns. like i said before, i am no attorney, BUT, i think any information/ evidence found in the truck without a warrant or consent would be thrown out by any objective judge.
but, i have seen personally law enforcement violate rights, mine. i was checking a rifle in at the airport once and there were some county cops hanging out, they came over to "inspect" my case, they wrote down the serial numbers off my rifles. pretty sure they have NO business in checking serial numbers without probable cause or consent. this was back many years before 9-11.
most of the law enforcement people that i have dealt with, both good and bad, know very little about the law and hope their "victim" does not either. when called on their behavior many have backed down.
If an elk or head is in sight at someone's home, yes the warden does have a right to ask for tags proving it was legally taken. If it was he would have no reason or desire to check guns. A vehicle has laws pertaining to driving around with loaded weapons, and establishing you are hunters with guns visible from outside the vehicle would give cause and the right to check to make sure those guns were unloaded.
As far as a citation for improper magazine plug? He didn't write it because he didn't have any way to prove you had or were using that shotgun in the field, a judge would have thrown it. He was just trying to give you a heads up for what could happen if you were checked while out shooting.
If a warden doesn't see a fisherman without a license actually using a pole in the water he can't write a citation for fishing without a license even if there is a pole sitting there not being used.
In my opinion, the answer is yes.
And here is the reason he did:
Originally Posted By: Raspack As the warden drove up and got out of his vehicle he said he would like to check licenses, any game we had taken and wanted to check guns. We both showed the requested paperwork and pulled the few dove from the ice chest. He then proceeded to open the back door of the truck and start pulling guns from the vehicle.
Your paperwork and doves were evidence you and your friend were hunting, so he had a legal right to check the guns used to take the doves.
In my opinion, he should have shown a little common courtesy and requested your consent first.
Agree with the above. Also the weapons were in plain sight if looking in the vehicle from outside, so it was not an illegal search by any stretch of the imagination. Pretty rude of him, but he was within his powers. You sure he wasn't one of the "Full of myself" agents on the TV show?
This is a state by state issue. That crap might fly in the communist republic of CA but not in MT. Checking licenses , animals, etc is fine but here atleast a Warden has no authority to check a vehicle without permission, a search warrant, or exigent circumstances that would have to be articulated well to constitute a lawful search.
i would have to agree, in colorado your vehicle is considered an extension of your home. just because i have a fresh elk head in front of the house or in the garage, does not mean that the warden can walk freely into my house to check guns. like i said before, i am no attorney, BUT, i think any information/ evidence found in the truck without a warrant or consent would be thrown out by any objective judge.
but, i have seen personally law enforcement violate rights, mine. i was checking a rifle in at the airport once and there were some county cops hanging out, they came over to "inspect" my case, they wrote down the serial numbers off my rifles. pretty sure they have NO business in checking serial numbers without probable cause or consent. this was back many years before 9-11.
most of the law enforcement people that i have dealt with, both good and bad, know very little about the law and hope their "victim" does not either. when called on their behavior many have backed down.
If an elk or head is in sight at someone's home, yes the warden does have a right to ask for tags proving it was legally taken. If it was he would have no reason or desire to check guns. A vehicle has laws pertaining to driving around with loaded weapons, and establishing you are hunters with guns visible from outside the vehicle would give cause and the right to check to make sure those guns were unloaded.
As far as a citation for improper magazine plug? He didn't write it because he didn't have any way to prove you had or were using that shotgun in the field, a judge would have thrown it. He was just trying to give you a heads up for what could happen if you were checked while out shooting.
If a warden doesn't see a fisherman without a license actually using a pole in the water he can't write a citation for fishing without a license even if there is a pole sitting there not being used.
