"Lawsuits in Tennessee, Pennsylvania highlight little-known 'open fields' powers allowing law enforcement agents to access private property without a warrant – and even leave cameras".

"WASHINGTON - Hunter Hollingsworth was driving through his rural Tennessee property one morning when he saw something sparkle.

"I thought it was a raccoon or a possum, shining in a tree. Then I realized it was a camera with an antenna," Hollingsworth, 32, recalled of the 2018 incident.

Hollingsworth, a railroad technician, lives about 10 minutes from the family-owned 93-acre property in Benton County, spread across the Big Sandy River.

Confused, he took the camera down and put it in a safe – until months later, when state and federal officers arrived at his home, brandishing a search warrant and looking for the equipment."

Carey L. Biron reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation March 10, 2023. [2]