Unwarranted Search and Seizure

by Natasha Chart · 2009-03-19 19:03:00 UTC
Topics:

A lot of hubbub in Montana over a new state law governing corporate seed sampling on private land:

... Supporters of the bill say it's needed to protect Montana farmers from legal harassment that has cost innocent small farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars in other states. They say farmers' property rights should not be pre-empted by biotech companies' patent rights.

... The bill would require that Monsanto and other companies get permission from a farmer before sampling crops on their land. If the farmer denies permission, the company could ask a district court for an order to sample the crops. ...

Even criminals, as one farmer in the article pointed out, have the right to their privacy unless the authorities get a warrant. No warrant, no search. No probable cause, no warrant.

But corporations pay to get a more favorable set of laws than the rest of us. Gold-plated legal consideration. As the article also pointed out, Monsanto representatives didn't even have to testify in public, they got to have a private hearing with state legislators. They're that important.

Are they important enough to get to keep trespassing on private property without having to get a court order or show probable cause? Well, we'll see.

The bill has already passed in the House. I hope the State Senate and governor follow their example.

Natasha Chart
PREVIOUS STORY:
In Defense of Breastfeeding
NEXT STORY:
Join the Social Media Day of Action to Rid Girl Scout Cookies of Forest-Destroying Palm Oil

COMMENTS (1)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.