Tuesday, AUGUST 5, 2025|
Attorneys in the Elk Mountain corner crossing case have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a final ruling on the matter.
Last month, attorney Robert Reeves Anderson, representing Iron Bar Holdings, LLC owner Fred Eshelman, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, or a request to review a lower court’s ruling on corner crossing.
In 2020 and 2021, four Missouri elk hunters used corner crossing to move between parcels of public land on Eshelman’s Elk Mountain ranch. In court documents, Attorney Robert Anderson contends that the hunters, Bradley Cape, Zachary Smith, Phillip Yeomans, and John Slowensky, trespassed on Eshelman’s airspace while crossing between the corners. The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office issued criminal trespass citations to the hunters.
In April of 2022, a Carbon County jury acquitted the four hunters on all charges. Eshelman’s attorneys appealed the ruling to the 10th Circuit Court in Denver, where the three-judge panel upheld the lower court’s ruling.
Speaking on his monthly podcast, Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken announced that his deputies are instructed to follow the 10th Circuit Court’s decision, maintaining that corner crossing is not illegal unless the person physically touches private land. Sheriff Bakken added that attorneys for Iron Bar Holdings, LLC have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. However, given the high volume of petitions received by the Court, the justices may choose not to take the case.
Each year, the U.S. Supreme Court receives approximately 7,000 to 8,000 petitions for writs of certiorari. However, the Court typically only hears oral arguments in roughly 80 to 150 cases, or less than 2% of all petitions. The Justices tend to prioritize cases that present constitutional questions or issues of national significance.
Sheriff Bakken said the Supreme Court may wait until mid-October to announce if it will hear the case.
In the meantime, the Wyoming Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee has drafted bill 26LSO-0118. Sheriff Bakken said if passed, the measure will establish the legal status of corner crossing in the Cowboy State.
As of this report, the language of the bill hasn’t been released. The Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 12th, to discuss the matter.
Sheriff Bakken reiterated that his deputies are operating under the 10th Circuit Court’s decision, which states that people may make no physical contact with private property while crossing between parcels of public land. The Sheriff asked both sportsmen and landowners to be respectful of one another.
