Pennsylvania: Fish and Boat Commission accused in federal lawsuit of unconstitutional searches

(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania law gives waterway patrol officers “unfettered authority” to search private property in violation of the U.S. Constitution, according to a new lawsuit filed Monday.

Tim Thomas, who lives in a cabin on Butler Lake in Susquehanna County, claimed in federal court that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission trespassed on his yard several times in 2023 over alleged fishing violations, claims that were later dismissed in court.

However, the victories sound meaningless to Thomas, who said that without changes to state law, nothing can prevent the incidents from happening again. Nor will the peace he and his wife sought when they bought the remote property in 2014 be restored.

“What the officer did to Thomas was both intrusive and unconstitutional,” said John Wrench, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, the nonprofit public interest law firm representing the case a press release emailed to The Center Square. “You don’t lose your constitutional rights just because you happen to live near a lake. That’s why we challenge Pennsylvania law that allows these egregious searches without a warrant.”

The commission confirmed it had received the complaint earlier this week but declined to comment, citing its policy of not discussing pending legislation.

According to court documents, Thomas said his late wife, Stephanie, was home alone on May 13, 2023, when she heard a man banging on the front door and threatening to call the police. Anxious 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 banged on the property's back door again. He left after receiving no response.

The couple learned the next day that the man was a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission officer named Ty Moon after he stopped in front of their car on the side of the road and told them he had been “chasing them” and that he would ” get to the bottom of things.”

A few days later, a notice came in the mail that Thomas had been caught fishing without a license and Moon had escaped when confronted. After the commission filed a formal complaint denying the allegations and questioning the officer's conduct, it 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 that was docked in his backyard. Moon claimed he used binoculars to observe Thomas fishing with more rods than legally allowed. A district court found him not guilty of that charge on June 4.

“We bought this cabin because we wanted a getaway with some peace and privacy, and when the agent repeatedly ignored our no trespassing sign and even walked right by 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 onto our land uninvited was bad enough, but this time he felt even more intrusive.”

Thomas hopes the lawsuit will declare the conduct unconstitutional once and for all.

“Protecting and conserving 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 in the case. “If a police officer wishes to search a person’s private property, the Fourth Amendment requires him to obtain a warrant based on probable cause.”