There Is STILL No 4th Amendment In Indiana

Sept 20th, 2011
posted by F. Grey Parker

This is not hyperbole. In May, one of the worst decisions in Indiana's history was handed down by this state's Supreme Court. Today, that court doubled down. As of this writing, there is an apparent lack of coordinated pushback. Some civil rights attorneys here are saying, off the record, that they fear the current SCOTUS might not strike down this assault on the 4th Amendment.

From NWI:
"The Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed its controversial ruling that Hoosiers have no right to ever physically resist police entry into their homes.

In a 4-1 decision, the state's high court said Tuesday the common law rule that "a man's home is his castle" cannot be used as a defense if a person is accused of attacking a police officer entering a home in an official capacity.

"Our holding does no more than bring Indiana common law in stride with jurisdictions that value promoting safety in situations where police and homeowners interact," wrote Justice Steven David for the court.

The ruling stemmed from an alleged 2007 Evansville domestic violence incident where Richard Barnes shoved a police officer trying to enter Barnes' home to investigate after Barnes told the officer he couldn't come in.

Barnes claimed the jury in his misdemeanor battery case should have been instructed that Barnes had a lawful right to resist what he considered an illegal police entry into his home.

In May, the five-member Supreme Court rejected Barnes' appeal, 3-2, saying Hoosiers have no right to resist even unlawful police entry into their homes." EMPHASeS OURS