Court upholds ban on resisting police entry
By TOM LoBIANCO Associated Press September 20, 2011 11:39AM
Updated: January 23, 2012 3:52AM
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court is upholding its ruling that residents don’t have the right to resist police officers who illegally enter their homes.
The 4-1 decision released Tuesday comes four months after the court ruled against an Evansville man charged with blocking and shoving a police officer who tried to go inside his home without a warrant after his wife called 911 during an argument.
The ruling drew protests that it violated constitutional protections against illegal searches and centuries of common law precedent regarding homeowners’ rights.
The Supreme Court’s new decision says the ruling does nothing more than bring Indiana law into stride with other states and that the argument of “a man’s home is his castle” isn’t a defense for attacking a police officer.
While the court did not substantively change its May ruling, it did clarify that it never intended to gut the Fourth Amendment.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller said he was satisfied with the additional explanation the justices laid out.
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