Talk:Game warden

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[edit] Search & Seizure

I think we need to quit this reverting war. If you want to reamin anonymous and not get an account on wikipedia, then stay out of it. Get an account come here on discussion and lets talk about it.

I agree that it's not true that game wardens don't have to abide by search and seizure laws, but it certainly is true that the sets of search & seizure rules they operate under give them way more leeway than the average street cop. A game warden doesn't need a warrant to come onto private property to conduct game checks and doesn't need a warrant to check for fish in the live well on boats (this statement is very misleading). They don't need warrants to check a vehicle that has just shot at a deer on the highway that is suspected of having illegal game. The open fields doctrine is no where near what I am referring to. Sure a deputy could access a piece of property private without a warrant if he had reason to believe a person was in danger there, but that's about it. A game warden's probable cause is the mere presence of wildlife on the property that someone may be takign illegally or legally. To imply that a game warden needs a warrant to check someone's fishing license is laughable.Sf46 (talk) 05:57, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Having served over 25 years as a police officer (State Police and Game Warden in Va), and a current Criminal Justice college professor, I tend to be a little sensitive to misinformation on the subject. "More leeway than the average street cop" seems a little naive. My only issue with your "Wiki article" here, is that you imply that a deputy sheriff cannot enter onto private lands to look for marijuana, simply not true, unless he/she enters the curtilage of the property as outlined in numerous SC cases (check out Oliver v. US or Hester). "Someone in danger" is certainly not a requirement for a law enforcement officer to enter private property. I don't recall implying that a game warden needs a warrant to carry out a license check, so I really don't have a response to that one. Believe me, the myth of the all-powerful game warden helped me out more than once over my career, I just hate to see a false representation of the 4th Amendment's restrictions on law enforcement on a public information site (my students frequent this site, against my suggestions for exactly this reason). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cjprof (talk • contribs) 00:12, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Discussion link?

A little help? I realized that in responding to the previous discussion, I simply edited the existing page - is there discussion response tab somewhere that I'm not seeing? Also, if you would like some help in editing or adding to the article, I'd be happy to help. I'm currently working on a college text for Environmental Conservation Law Enforcement, so I have a lot of resources for all the states. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cjprof (talk • contribs) 00:18, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

I think your last edit sets things about where they need to be. Sf46 (talk) 13:19, 4 January 2008 (UTC)