Episode Details

Pennsylvania’s top court just handed landowners a major win: if you’ve clearly marked your property with signs, gates, or paint, game wardens and other government officials now need a warrant to enter. In a unanimous 7-0 ruling, the court flipped the script on the old “open fields doctrine,” recognizing that active efforts to exclude the public create a legitimate privacy expectation protected by the state’s Constitution — stronger than federal protections. The case stemmed from two hunting clubs who sued after wardens entered their posted land without warrants to investigate wildlife violations. The court sided with them, overturning a 2017 precedent, but clarified this only applies to properties where owners have taken specific steps to keep others out — not all undeveloped land. With no higher court to appeal, this is now the law across the state.

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