RITCHIE HUNT CLUB CHALLENGES LOCAL OPTION AGAINST SUNDAY HUNTING

(04/18/2007)

No one can hunt on public property on Sunday in West Virginia. But what if you're on your own land? The question was posed to the WV Supreme Court yesterday, which heard arguments in a case pitting a private hunting club against Ritchie County. The Hartley Hill Hunt Club leases more than 2,000 acres in the county, and wants to hunt on Sundays. In 2002, Ritchie County voters went to the polls and banned Sunday hunting on private property. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union is representing the hunt club, which claims that vote was unconstitutional. Justice Joseph Albright wondered whether striking down the Ritchie County ban would open the door to invalidating all local-option elections. Jason Huber, a Charleston lawyer representing the hunt club, said hunting is different, because it's specifically protected by the state constitution.

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