Is a statute permitting road hunters to shoot at game birds flushed from roads or ditches even after the birds have flown over private property unconstitutional? A state trial court judge ruled today that such a statute is a taking of private land for public use without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment, according to an AP story headlined "Circuit judge strikes down new road hunting law." Excerpt:
[Judge] Trandahl's ruling said prior decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have held that landowners have the right to use and enjoy the space above their land. Prior court decisions also have found that firing above private property is a taking that requires compensation, she said.
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