Indiana state supreme court justice Steven David, a recent appointee of Governor Mitch Daniels, authored a 3-2 opinion that openly admits to overturning several centuries of common law understanding. At issue was this question: If police officers attempt to unlawfully enter the home of a free citizen, does that citizen have the right to resist them?
Justice David’s opinion grants the longstanding existence of a “common-law right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers.” He writes that the “English common-law right to resist unlawful police action existed for over three hundred years,” and possibly nearly 800 years, dating back to the Magna Carta in 1215. He concludes, however, that “public policy” now “disfavors any such right.”
