2011-05-13 Court denies right to resist illegal cop entry into home


 * date posted: when posted::2011-05-13
 * author: author::Dan Carden
 * source: site::nwi.com
 * topics: topic::US Constitution topic::police topic::police misconduct topic::Magna Carta topic::Indiana topic::US/IN/Supreme Court
 * link: URL::http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_ec169697-a19e-525f-a532-81b3df229697.html
 * title: headline::Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home
 * rephrased: title::Court denies right to resist illegal cop entry into home

Summary
&ldquo;Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes. .. In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry.&rdquo;

Excerpt
Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.

In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry.

"We believe ... a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence," David said. "We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest."