phugging Game Warden tried to pinch me for not enough orange on in the early MZ season while I was raking leaves on a trail into my deer stand! #1 he was trespassing with no probable cause. #2 I had no weapon of any sort but my Glock 9mm daily carry with my PTC in my pocket. #3 I threw him off my property!!!
He left because he was willing to do so at the time. A Pa Game Warden does not need probable cause to venture onto private property. All he has to say is he was looking for any possible game law violation. They also do not need a warrant to search a vehicle if they only think there is the possibility of a game law violation. However, if you push them they will most likely have you remain in place and have one signed off rather quickly. Right or wrong, that is the current law and it is not unique to only Pa.
Reason for entry is the only requirement. His reason was to verify a hunter was complying with legislated game laws.
HARRISBURG - Game wardens may enter posted land to investigate hunting violations, the state Supreme Court ruled in a case that arose during the first day of the 2002 bear-hunting season.Landowners do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy against enforcement of state game law, the court said in a 4-3 decision Tuesday. It endorsed the "open fields doctrine" that most other states have in place."The citizens of this commonwealth throughout our history have shown a keen interest in protecting and preserving as an asset the diverse wildlife that find refuge in the fields and forests within our borders," wrote Justice Ronald D. Castille for the majority. "This interest is so strong that it is enshrined by a separate provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution."The defendant, Joseph Russo Jr., was ordered to pay $3,600 in fines and restitution after game officers discovered he used an 80-square-foot pile of mashed apples to bait a bear near his hunting cabin in Mehoopany Township, Wyoming County.DNA evidence matched blood found at the apple mash pile -- along with bear tracks -- to a bear carcass seized from Russo's home in Pittston. He was found guilty of unlawful taking of game and using an illegal device to hunt.Russo appealed, arguing that the search of property posted with no-trespassing signs violated state constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
