Paul Berger
At the age of thirteen, Paul Berger set out from home on his horse, Chum. He found work as a ranch hand, punching cows, breaking horses, and working up to 40,000 head of sheep. What he wanted most was a ranch of his own.
And after years of working hard, saving his money and buying a few cows at a time, he was able to buy a ranch in 1958 on Lodgepole Creek north of Sand Springs, Idaho. By 1993, he and his wife, Rosie had 700 head of cattle and 7000 sheep on 75,000 acres, mostly BLM lands. And then the unexpected happened: Paul Berger's ranch was raided by armed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees accompanied by an assistant U.S. Attorney and a crew from Ted Turner's CNN. In a multi-car convoy, with an aircraft overhead, these government employees searched for evidence to "document the taking of wildlife in violation of Federal laws."
The Garfield County Sheriff ordered CNN off the ranch, but they snuck back in and kept filming. CNN would later proclaim the raid a success but no evidence of poisoned eagles was found. CNN was there in violation of U.S. Department of Justice policy; days earlier CNN and the Assistant U.S. Attorney had agreed to film a pre-raid briefing and the raid itself!
After years of litigation, Paul Berger won his case at the Supreme Court. "Police violate the Fourth Amendment rights of homeowners when they allow members of the media to accompany them during the execution of a warrant in their home." And a settlement was reached with CNN.
Years later, Paul Berger left a bequest to MSLF allowing others to fight against constitutional violations by federal bureaucrats and the liberal media.