(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania law gives waterways conservation officers “unrestrained authority” to search private properties in violation of the U.S. Constitution, according to a new lawsuit filed Monday.
Tim Thomas, who lives in a cabin along Butler Lake in Susquehanna County, alleged in federal court that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission entered his yard unpermitted multiple times in 2023 over supposed fishing violations that were later dismissed in court.
The victories ring hollow for Thomas, however, who said that without changes to state law, nothing will prevent the incidents from happening again. Nor will the peace he and his wife sought when they first bought the remote property in 2014 be restored.
“What the officer did to the Thomases was both intrusive and unconstitutional,” said John Wrench, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, the nonprofit and public interest law firm representing the case, in a news release emailed to The Center Square. “You don’t lose your constitutional rights simply because you happen to live near a lake. That’s why we’re challenging the Pennsylvania statute that authorizes these outrageous warrantless searches.”
The commission confirmed it received the complaint earlier this week, but declined to comment, noting its policy against discussing pending legislation.
According to the legal filing, Thomas said that his late wife, Stephanie, was home alone on May 13, 2023, when she heard a man pound on the front door while threatening to call the police. Afraid and immobile from intensive cancer treatment, she didn’t answer, prompting the man to walk around the cabin, past several “No Trespassing” signs, and onto the covered porch, where he again banged on the property’s backdoor. He left after receiving no response.
The couple learned the next day that the man was an officer with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission named Ty Moon after he pulled in front of their car on the side of the road and told them he’d “been chasing” them and that he’d “get to the bottom of things.”
A citation arrived in the mail a few days later saying Thomas was caught fishing without a license and eluded Moon when confronted. After filing a formal complaint disputing the allegations and questioning the officer’s behavior, the commission dropped the case.
It wouldn’t be long before Moon paid the couple another surprise visit.
On Aug. 12, Thomas said the officer confiscated eight fishing rods from his pontoon boat docked in his backyard. Moon claimed he used binoculars to spot Thomas fishing with more rods than legally allowed. A magisterial District Court found him not guilty of the charge on June 4.
“We bought this cabin because we wanted a sanctuary with some peace and privacy, and when the agent repeatedly ignored our no trespassing posting and even walked right past the window while my wife was taking a bath, it really felt like we had lost that sanctuary,” Thomas said. “The first time he came on our land uninvited was bad enough, but this time felt even more intrusive.”
Thomas hopes the lawsuit will declare the behavior unconstitutional once and for all.
“Protecting and preserving wildlife is important, but that doesn’t mean those in government tasked with doing so can ignore the Constitution,” said Kirby Thomas West, one of the attorneys on the case. “If any law enforcement officer wants to search someone’s private property, the Fourth Amendment requires them to get a warrant based on probable cause.”
