By Scott Tibbs, May 17, 2011
Less than two weeks after the death of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda terrorists have won a major victory in the War on Terror without firing a single bullet thanks to three so-called "justices" on the Indiana Supreme Court. Islamic terrorists are no doubt cheering as their efforts to destroy freedom are aided by America's own "justice" system.
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." |
Source: Northwest Indiana Times.
For centuries, it has been assumed that citizens have the right to resist unlawful intrusion into their homes by agents of the state. America's founders recognized the importance of this right when they wrote the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated."
Notice how this amendment is written, because this is critical. The right to be secure from unwarranted government intrusion is assumed to be automatic, and the Fourth Amendment is a restriction on government's ability to violate a right that the people already have independent of government. You see this all through the Constitution.
The case stems from a domestic violence call in 2007, where a man was very loud and obnoxious. When the man and his wife went back into their apartment, the police attempted to follow them and were denied access. The man shoved the police officer against the wall when he attempted to enter. He was arrested and appealed, claiming he had the right to resist unlawful entry by police into his home.
The problem here is that the so-called "justices" are using a twenty pound sledgehammer to kill a spider, when a flyswatter would work perfectly and not put a hole in the wall.
The "court" could have easily ruled that this was not an unlawful entry, and that the police officers had the right to enter based on a reasonable assumption that violence was going to take place. It has been well established that law enforcement has the right to enter your home without a warrant in specific circumstances, such as halting a crime in progress. The court could have taken that position without taking a dump on the Constitution.
The state legislature should immediately begin work on legislation confirming that Indiana residents have the right to resist unlawful entry by agents of the state. That legislation, once passed, and signed into law, would be temporary solution until the legislature can adopt a constitutional amendment and send it to the voters for approval.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: An outrageous Supreme Court decision
Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 12:17:42 -0400
From: Scott Tibbs <tibbs1973@yahoo.com>
To: R61@IN.gov, R60@IN.gov, S40@IN.gov
CC: H6@IN.gov, H1@IN.gov, H42@IN.gov, H88@IN.gov, H23@IN.gov, H29@IN.gov, S16@IN.gov, S6@IN.gov, S24@IN.gov, S25@IN.gov, S8@IN.gov
Dear Monroe County legislators and Indiana legislative leaders,
I am shocked and outraged by the decision by the Indiana Supreme Court (Richard L. Barnes v. State Of Indiana) that we have no right to resist unlawful entry into our homes by agents of the state. The court could have easily ruled that police officers had the right to enter the home in this particular case because of reasonable suspicion that domestic violence was to take place. Instead, they chose to shred the Fourth Amendment.
As a patriotic American, I implore you to protect our rights against this abomination. You should immediately pass legislation confirming our rights, to be followed by an amendment to the Indiana state constitution. I expect these should pass 50 to 0 and 100 to 0 respectively.
Thank you,
Scott Tibbs
Bloomington, IN
