Mid-South Conference: Panel To Discuss Fourth Amendment, Warrantless Search Of Private Lands
DREW VIGUET
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS
You got a warrant?
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” but, what about private agricultural land? According to the open fields doctrine, the Fourth Amendment’s protections would not extend that far.
The open fields doctrine was established in the 1924 Supreme Court case Hester v. United States, which involved federal officers seizing alcohol, illegal due to Prohibition, in a privately-owned field. The doctrine contends that open fields, even those that are privately owned, can be subject to a search without a warrant or probable cause.
The doctrine was taken a step further in 1984, when the Supreme Court ruled in Oliver v. United States that the open fields doctrine applies even when a “No Trespassing” sign is posted. In addition to the open fields doctrine, there are “administrative searches” that can allow for warrantless searches of private property.
“This is an important area of the law that could become even more important for federal and state agency officials, law enforcement, producers and rural landowners in the coming years,” Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center, said.
The Institute for Justice recently found that nearly 96 percent of all private land in the country, which is about 1.2 billion acres, is essentially open to warrantless government access. In recent years, IJ, a public interest law firm representing clients free-of-charge, has been active on this issue, partnering with clients from Tennessee, Louisiana, Ohio and other states. For instance, a Louisiana landowner, partnered with IJ, filed a lawsuit after two instances of officers from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries entering his land.
IJ Senior Attorney Robert Frommer said that farmers, better than most people, know the importance of private property.
“Their lands put food not just on their own family’s table, but every American’s,” he said. “Yet over time, courts have crafted any number of Fourth Amendment exceptions, including the open fields doctrine, that together give officials warrantless access onto much of this nation’s private land, including agricultural land and other rural properties.”
At the NALC’s Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference, a session titled “Fourth Amendment and Agriculture: Warrantless Access to Ag & Private Rural Lands,” presented by Frommer and Joshua Windham, attorney and Elfie Gallun Fellow in Freedom and the Constitution at IJ, will focus on the issue and what lies ahead.
“These search-and-seizure exceptions often hit farmers and rural landowners the hardest,” Windham said. “Rob and I explain what the Institute for Justice is doing on this issue, and what farmers, agency officials, and legislators should know to better protect the security of private land.”
The conference is June 6-7 at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. A livestream option is available for those unable to attend the sessions in person. Registration is online.
“Robert and Josh bring with them great insight, as the Institute for Justice has been involved in this issue first-hand,” Pittman said. “Their expertise will help shed light on a topic that’s important to the Mid-South and beyond.”
Continuing education available
The conference is approved for continuing legal education in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee. It has also been approved for continuing education by the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.
For information about the National Agricultural Law Center, visit nationalaglawcenter.org or follow @Nataglaw on X. The National Agricultural Law Center is also on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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DREW VIGUET University of Arkansas