The property outlined in red, inside the city limits of Sweetwater, is the land owned by three of the hunters involved in the case headed for the East Tennessee Court of Appeals. (Image via Google Maps)
SWEETWATER, Tenn. — Two conservation organizations have filed an amicus curiae brief urging the East Tennessee Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court decision that upheld the City of Sweetwater’s ordinance prohibiting the discharge of firearms within city limits as applied to lawful duck hunting on private property.
Amicus curiae is Latin for “friend of the court.” It is a legal document filed by a person or organization that is not a party to a lawsuit but has a strong interest in the outcome of the case. Its purpose is to provide the court with additional information, expertise, or arguments that the parties themselves may not have presented.
Safari Club International (SCI) and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) filed an amicus curiae in the Sweetwater duck hunting case we reported last week.
The hunters in the Sweetwater case – Matthew Brown, Andrew Holbrook, Cole Plaster, Richard Roundtree, Carey Thompson, and Nathan Whitener – said they were careful to be sure their hunting location and shooting direction was always completely safe. (Photo courtesy Matthew Brown)
The case centers on the prosecution of six duck hunters who were hunting on private property, owned by three of the hunters, inside the city limits of Sweetwater. The hunters are represented by attorney Matthew Rogers. In a news release, SCI and TWF officials say like Rogers, they believe “Sweetwater’s ordinance unlawfully prohibits this hunting and that enforcement of the ‘discharge of firearms’ ordinance against these hunters also threatens Tennessee’s longstanding framework for wildlife conservation and management.”
“Wildlife management decisions belong with the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency—not individual municipalities,” said SCI CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “Cities cannot ban lawful hunting through local firearms ordinances. This would undermine the State’s wildlife management efforts and the constitutional rights of Tennessee’s hunters.”
The property outlined in red, inside the city limits of Sweetwater, is the land owned by three of the hunters involved in the case headed for the East Tennessee Court of Appeals. (Image via Google Maps)
The Tennessee Legislature passed a new law this year restricting city or county municipalities from taking action against the discharge of firearms by individuals lawfully hunting within city limits. However, the appeals court judges will be reviewing the case based upon Tennessee law at the time of the alleged violation.
While the possibility is significantly lessened by the new law which has been passed, SCI and TWF fear that if the lower court’s ruling stands, municipalities across Tennessee could effectively nullify state-authorized hunting activities simply by enacting discharge ordinances.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
The City of Sweetwater has 30 days to respond to the initial Appellants’ Brief filed on July 27.
