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outstanding arrest warrant, intoxication, serious interference 

 with a law enforcement officer, assault, etc. Both driving a 

 vehicle and hunting require a valid state license, which now 

 entails some form of training before the licenses are issued. 

 Drivers and hunters are responsible for knowing and abiding by 

 the laws and regulations governing the privileges they exercise. 

 The public at large has a right to expect fair, impartial, and 

 equitable enforcement and treatment from those persons 

 commissioned' to exercise the authority the public has entrusted 

 to them. Those cited may appear in court to challenge the 

 charges . 



We also do not warn dove hunters about a baited field for the 

 same reason police officers do not place portable signs on the 

 roadside to warn speeders that a radar unit is over the next 

 hill. To follow such a practice would negate the deterrent 

 effect of radar on speeders. Speed limits are clearly posted for 

 drivers, and the drivers are expected to abide by the limit as 

 part of their licensed driving privilege. The same situation 

 held true for the dove hunters present on the Dixie Co., FL, 

 field. The hunting regulations are published and made available 

 to dove hunters, our enforcement agents willingly explain the ^ 

 regulations whenever asked, and the hunter is expected to assume 

 responsibility to know and abide by the published regulations. 



Another issue raised concerned the authority of the Service 

 Special agents to enter the Sanchez field. The agents conformed 

 to well-established legal authority when they entered the Sanchez 

 field. Beginning as early as 1924 in Hester v The United States, 

 the Supreme Court and the lower Federal courts have ruled 

 consistently that persons have no reasonable expectation of 

 privacy in open fields. Therefore, provisions of the Fourth 

 Amendment do not extend to observations or seizures made in open 

 fields . 



A Cross City, Florida, newspaper article dated December 7, 1995, 

 quoted a letter written by Congressman Cliff Stearns to Chairman 

 Don Young. In the letter. Congressman Stearns echoed the 

 hunters ' complaint that the agents waited an unreasonably long 

 period of time before they entered the field. This implies that 

 the agents lacked concern for the dove resource because they 

 allowed birds to be killed for an hour and a half after the hunt 

 started. 



The schedule for the hunt, as published in the flyer entitled 

 "Second Annual Predators Dove Hunt," set hunting hours from 3-6 

 p.m. The agents entered the field to check the hunters at 

 approximately 4:15 p.m., which is less than an hour and, a half 

 after the published shooting hours began. The prime dove hunting 

 hours at that time of year are generally between 4-6 p.m. The 

 agents stopped the hunt almost two full hours before the 

 scheduled termination of the event, within a reasonable time 



