Hello XXXXXXXX,
How old is your son and his friends?
Thank you for responding.
Unfortunately, these boys are considered adults under the law, and a Conservation Officer is still a police officer, with all of the responsibility (and power) of a regular police officer.
The authority that he had to ask permission to search was that of a indiana law enforcement officer. They certainly could have refused the search. I understand at that age, being scared made them give in to the request, but that will not be considered to be a defense to the charge.Thankfully, this is just a misdemeanor, and likely a lesson learned.
I sympathize with your predicament, and I'm sorry I don't have better news for you.
Regards,
Michelle
Paralegal
Experienced Legal Assistant with knowledge in Criminal, Family, Probate, and Bankruptcy Law.
In the matter of jurisdiction, Indiana law says this:
IC-14-22-39
Sec. 3.
(a) As used in this section, "public or private property" does not include dwellings.
(b) The director and conservation officers may:
(1) search a boat, a conveyance, a vehicle, an automobile, a fish box, a fish basket, a game bag, a game coat, or other receptacle in which game may be carried; and (2) enter into or upon private or public property for the purposes of subdivision for the purpose of patrolling or investigating...
Without permission to search, the officer could have used 'probable cause' as a reason for conducting a search. meaning that the officer would have had to see, smell, hear...something that led him to believe that there may be an illegal activity. Probable cause would not apply here, because of the permission.
A conservation officer (called a game warden in Texas) has very broad powers, even more than a regular police officer. The don't have jurisdictional limits within a state, and have less limitations on searches.
Please let me know if I can offer you more assistance.
Hello again.
Do you know why the officer was on the private property?
As I stated earlier, the conservation officer is still a police officer. He had the right to be where he was, especially since there was prior illegal activity. Even though the main purpose of his job is enforcing fish and game laws, he still has the duty to uphold the law, and can enforce them. For instance, if a police officer drove by private property (a home) in a patrol car and saw what he believed to be people engaged in illegal activities, he could go on the private property and investigate.
The boys allowing the search, and subsequently being found in possession of marijuana left the officer no other choice but to issue the citation.
A conservation officer is basically a police officer that specializes in game laws.
I wish I had better news for you, but I don't believe that there is any way for them to get out of this based on the officer being on private property, and not suspecting them of breaking game laws.