Game warden Brazoria County

[nightmare69]

What about your house, can they forcefully enter your home without a warrant?

Define forcefully.

I am certain we can discuss lots of scenarios and make grand suppositions on what the wardens can or can't do and throw in all sorts of 4A claims.

Let's just say that if you are out actively pursuing fish or game or if a warden sees something on your property like a steaming gut pile then he has probable cause.

I have been checked by wardens many times and in each and every case they were within their bounds to do so. In all of the times I have been checked I have never been tagged by any of them for breaking any laws.

Pretty simple. Obey the laws and you will be fine.Break the laws and you will get caught and pay the price. Isn't this what we strive to do here with concealed carry and our 2A rights?

Anygunanywhere

Can they kick in your door if yo are not home and enter your home without a warrant? What if you answer the door but deny them entry, can they detain you and search your home even though you declined the search?

[texanjoker]

What about your house, can they forcefully enter your home without a warrant?

Define forcefully.

I am certain we can discuss lots of scenarios and make grand suppositions on what the wardens can or can't do and throw in all sorts of 4A claims.

Let's just say that if you are out actively pursuing fish or game or if a warden sees something on your property like a steaming gut pile then he has probable cause.

I have been checked by wardens many times and in each and every case they were within their bounds to do so. In all of the times I have been checked I have never been tagged by any of them for breaking any laws.

Pretty simple. Obey the laws and you will be fine.Break the laws and you will get caught and pay the price. Isn't this what we strive to do here with concealed carry and our 2A rights?

Anygunanywhere

Can they kick in your door if yo are not home and enter your home without a warrant? What if you answer the door but deny them entry, can they detain you and search your home even though you declined the search?

There is a big difference between a game warden checking land after hearing gun shots to kicking in the door of an unoccupied home or searching a home without consent.

[anygunanywhere]

What about your house, can they forcefully enter your home without a warrant?

Define forcefully.

I am certain we can discuss lots of scenarios and make grand suppositions on what the wardens can or can't do and throw in all sorts of 4A claims.

Let's just say that if you are out actively pursuing fish or game or if a warden sees something on your property like a steaming gut pile then he has probable cause.

I have been checked by wardens many times and in each and every case they were within their bounds to do so. In all of the times I have been checked I have never been tagged by any of them for breaking any laws.

Pretty simple. Obey the laws and you will be fine.Break the laws and you will get caught and pay the price. Isn't this what we strive to do here with concealed carry and our 2A rights?

Anygunanywhere

Can they kick in your door if yo are not home and enter your home without a warrant? What if you answer the door but deny them entry, can they detain you and search your home even though you declined the search?

Truthfully, I really am not going to get in that discussion with you. Maybe others can post and help you out. All I have to go on is my own experience with wardens. I have never heard of any instances such as what you describe.

Anygunanywhere

[bayouhazard]

Can they kick in your door if yo are not home and enter your home without a warrant? What if you answer the door but deny them entry, can they detain you and search your home even though you declined the search?

Sure they can. Whether they get in trouble afterwards, and whether that trouble is criminal or a note in their personnel file, depends on the totality of the circumstances.

[tamc]

I do think there is a difference between a game warden and a LEO. The former does not need probable cause to enter, but the latter does. I cannot recall the statute and perhaps it is hearsay -
I was always taught the most underpaid, but powerful person was the game warden.

If the game warden suspects activities related to hunting, fishing, or othyer laws regarding wildlife are or have been going on it is probable cause for them to enter. Hearing gunshots is probable cause.

Anygunanywhere

Anygun - I agree on the game wardens and that was my point of clarification. They generally have more authority then a LEO. By example, a sheriff cannot enter your rural property (e.g. hunting season) just because they hear shots without having cause (they cannot enforce game laws).

[cb1000rider]

Sure they can. Whether they get in trouble afterwards, and whether that trouble is criminal or a note in their personnel file, depends on the totality of the circumstances.

That's definitely the correct answer.

[srothstein]

As a general rule, all peace officers in Texas have the exact same powers. Game Wardens are peace officers based on the exact same law as city police officers or state dental examiners board investigators. So, they all obey the same rules. Criminal Trespass laws apply to peace officers the exact same way they apply to all people, with the notable exception of what is written into the law (no banning an officer for having a gun). Along those lines, trespass laws do not apply to someone following a court order, whether a peace officer or not (and yes, non-sworn citizens can be ordered by a court to perform a search pursuant to a warrant).

As a general rule, any officer can force their way into your property without a warrant if the proper conditions exist. The most well known of these exceptions is when probable cause exists to believe a crime has been committed and evidence is on the property AND there is some exigent circumstance that stops the officer from getting a warrant. I am not sure I agree that gunshots constitute probable cause for a game warden for any crime, but the court would make that decision. And, one of the trick parts of the law is that the officer does not have to explain his probable cause to you nor the exigent circumstances. He just has to explain them to the court later. If you resist the search, you are committing a crime, even if the search is illegal.

Now, there are two examples I know of where there are differences in the power of peace officers. City police officers and marshals, D.A. investigators, county constables and their deputies, and county sheriffs and their deputies have a little less power than any other peace officer. Under Article 14.03 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, these officers may not enforce some traffic laws outside their county. No other officer has this restriction, even school officers. Surprisingly, even city airport officers are not restricted if they are part of a separate department and not the city police.

And the second difference is that game wardens may enter onto private land and water for certain purposes. This is in Section 12.103 of the Parks and Wildlife Code. The rule is not general, but requires that the land or water be where fish or game roam or stray. It also limits the reason to be there and limits what the government can do with the information gained. And since it does say "land or water" it clearly does not provide for entry without permission into a building or house.

Having said all that and pointed out the law, I will add one more proviso. The Fourth Amendment applies to game wardens as much as any other peace officer or government agent. It forbids unreasonable searches. The only search presumed to be reasonable is one where consent is obtained. Even a search performed under a warrant can be questioned later in court for the probable cause and whether it was reasonable or not. I would think the courts would find a game warden entering property where hunting was going on as reasonable based on the long history of doing so, but I am not willing to guarantee that. The specific facts of the case would affect the ruling.

[tamc]

Thank you steve. I think what I was thinking is captured in the following - without permission there is a difference between a game warden and a LEO - I would not want to press the issue, but there appears to be one:

Sec. 12.104. RIGHT TO SEARCH AND INSPECT. (a) A game warden or other peace officer commissioned by the department may search a game bag, vehicle, vessel, or other receptacle if the game warden or peace officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the game bag, vehicle, vessel, or receptacle contains a wildlife resource that has been unlawfully killed or taken.

(b) A game warden or other peace officer commissioned by the department may inspect a wildlife resource or a part or product of a wildlife resource that is discovered during a search under Subsection (a) of this section.

(c) In this section "wildlife resource" means an animal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or other aquatic life the taking or possession of which is regulated in any manner by this code.

[srothstein]

That part is because Parks and Wildlife has more than one type of peace officer. It is just giving all of the officers the same authority. Note that it says other peace officer commissioned by the agency. This is just designating job titles used by Parks and Wildlife for their various employees. Game Wardens are paid under pay scale C of the state while park police are paid under pay scale B. The law refers to game wardens and park police separately based on history, even though they are both the same under Article 2.12 of the CCP. If the law just said game wardens could do it, then the park police would not have the same authority, etc.

The legislature learned their lesson on this several years back based on drinking and driving. When the law was first passed that banned open containers of alcoholic beverages in a car, the law required that a police officer actually see a person drinking. Someone caught on to this and it cost some cases when county sheriffs and state troopers tried to enforce it because they are peace officers but not police officers.

Understanding some of our laws can be hard if you are not in on them and working with them and familiar with their history. And it is not easy even then.

[Sparky3131]

After the initial contact, I have seen the game warden several more times and had the chance to speak to him(twice while hunting). The powers he has are pretty broad but he isnt arrogant or rude about it. Just a very friendly guy, that is very serious about enforcing Texas game laws by the book.

[OldCurlyWolf]

After the initial contact, I have seen the game warden several more times and had the chance to speak to him(twice while hunting). The powers he has are pretty broad but he isnt arrogant or rude about it. Just a very friendly guy, that is very serious about enforcing Texas game laws by the book.

I have a Nephew-in-law who is a game warden.

Over the years I have learned that nearly all wardens are very polite, but firm. That helps when you know a large percentage of the people you deal with are armed.

[C-dub]

I apologize up front for my questions. I am not a hunter, so sorry if these are simple questions.

If I'm on my own private land would I still have to have a hunting license to hunt deer or any other animal other than animals like hogs? I use hogs as an example because hogs are considered nuisances and there's no license required and no bag limit, right? But, what about other animals that do not fall into that category?

Also, would bag limits still apply on my own land? I guess, if the answer to the first question is, yes, I would still require a license, then the answer to this one might also be yes.

[anygunanywhere]

I apologize up front for my questions. I am not a hunter, so sorry if these are simple questions.

If I'm on my own private land would I still have to have a hunting license to hunt deer or any other animal other than animals like hogs? I use hogs as an example because hogs are considered nuisances and there's no license required and no bag limit, right? But, what about other animals that do not fall into that category?

Also, would bag limits still apply on my own land? I guess, if the answer to the first question is, yes, I would still require a license, then the answer to this one might also be yes.

Yes. You have to have a license to hunt and harvest game. Bag limits apply.

You do not need to have a fishing license to fish in your own pond.

Anygunanywhere

[C-dub]

Yes. You have to have a license to hunt and harvest game. Bag limits apply.

You do not need to have a fishing license to fish in your own pond.

Anygunanywhere

Fish I knew about, but I actually am a little shocked that a license and bag limits apply on my own private property.

[talltex]

Yes. You have to have a license to hunt and harvest game. Bag limits apply.

You do not need to have a fishing license to fish in your own pond.

Anygunanywhere

Fish I knew about, but I actually am a little shocked that a license and bag limits apply on my own private property.

They apply, because all regulated game animals are considered to be the property of the State of Texas as a natural resource which is protected by the laws. Migratory birds fall under Federal protection.