Tennessee Court of Appeals Rules That State Statute Allowing TWRA Game Wardens to Enter Private Property Without a Search Warrant Is Unconstitutional

The Tennessee Court of Appeals released a decision in Terry Rainwaters, et al. v. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, et al. on Thursday, holding a previous ruling that found a state statute that allows TWRA to patrol private properties without warrants or consent to be unconstitutional.

The statutory authority in question, subsections (1) and (7) of Tennessee Code Annotated section 70-1-305, reads as follows:

The executive director of the wildlife resources agency has the power to:

Enforce all laws relating to wildlife, and to go upon any property, outside of buildings, posted or otherwise, in the performance of the executive director’s duties; [and]

Designate employees of the agency, officers of any other state or of the federal government who are full-time wildlife enforcement personnel, to perform the duties and have the powers as prescribed in this section[…]

The lawsuit was brought on by plaintiffs Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth, whose properties were patrolled by TWRA agents “multiple” times to investigate suspected violations of wildlife laws.

Neither the plaintiffs nor TWRA know how many times agents have entered upon the properties.

As such, Rainwaters and Hollingsworth filed the lawsuit in 2020, arguing that the statutory authority is “unconstitutional on its face and as applied.”

On Thursday, the Tennessee Court of Appeals declared the following in its decision:

We conclude the statute is facially constitutional but unconstitutional as applied. We affirm the award of nominal damages.

The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) applauded Thursday’s ruling in the case, saying, “The Court of Appeals decision in this TWRA matter is a clear victory for the citizens of Tennessee.”

“It is a victory of constitutional significance and one that will hopefully send a strong message not only to the TWRA but also to those individuals who have been serving and who continue to serve in the Tennessee Legislature,” TFA added.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Worker” by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.