Recent Development by Anthony S. Niedwiecki
In November 1990, Louisiana wildlife law enforcement officers were stopping and checking hunting boats in an attempt to keep hunters from taking too many ducks from Bayou Boeuf. The officers stopped the boats and checked the tags that are required to be placed on every bag of hunted ducks. They recorded the signatures on the tags so they could determine whether the hunters had taken too many ducks for that day. When they began checking Bayou Boeuf landing on November 17, they realized that some hunters were using other hunters' signatures to bring in more ducks than legally allowed. The officers generally checked every boat that passed the checkpoint unless traffic became too heavy.
On November 18, the officers stopped the defendants' boat as it headed toward the landing. In response to the officers' queries, the defendants showed their hunting licenses and told the officers that they had no ducks, but did have a deer on board. After checking the deer, the officers issued the defendants a summons for not appropriately tagging the deer.
During trial, the court denied the defendants' motion to exclude the evidence obtained by the officers because the search and seizure did not violate the defendants' state and federal constitutional rights. The court of appeal reversed, finding that the officers did not have reasonable grounds for a license check and game inquiry under Article I, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution. The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed, holding that gaming checks made during hunting season in a wildlife habitat do not violate the state or federal constitutions. State v. McHugh, 630 So. 2d 1259 (La. 1994).
About the Author
Anthony S. Niedwiecki.
Citation
69 Tul. L. Rev. 611 (1994)