Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The 4th Amendment requires individualized warrants to keep Americans secure against unreasonable searches. But across the United States, millions of businesses are subject to warrantless inspections. Maine, for instance, requires lobstermen to install state-run GPS tracking devices on their boats.
Even when a boat is being used for a family joyride, Maine requires that trackers report its location anytime it’s in the water. An appeals court said that was fine, assuming that lobstering is a highly regulated industry for which 24/7 warrantless tracking is constitutionally reasonable.
But governments view virtually every industry as “highly regulated.” Including industries that aren’t regulated at all, like taxidermy.
When IJ client and taxidermist Jeremy Bennett asked a wildlife officer to reschedule an inspection for when his studio was open, state officials charged him with a crime. After IJ brought suit, Ohio quickly folded, and now officers have to obtain consent or a warrant before searching taxidermy shops.
The 4th Amendment requires individualized warrants to keep Americans secure against unreasonable searches. But across the United States, millions of businesses are subject to warrantless inspections. Maine, for instance, requires lobstermen to install state-run GPS tracking devices on their boats.
Even when a boat is being used for a family joyride, Maine requires that trackers report its location anytime it’s in the water. An appeals court said that was fine, assuming that lobstering is a highly regulated industry for which 24/7 warrantless tracking is constitutionally reasonable.
But governments view virtually every industry as “highly regulated.” Including industries that aren’t regulated at all, like taxidermy.
When IJ client and taxidermist Jeremy Bennett asked a wildlife officer to reschedule an inspection for when his studio was open, state officials charged him with a crime. After IJ brought suit, Ohio quickly folded, and now officers have to obtain consent or a warrant before searching taxidermy shops.
