INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld its ruling that residents don't have the right to resist police officers who illegally enter their homes but explained further that the ruling also does not give police carte blanche to enter a home.
The 4-1 decision 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.
Opponents of the earlier decision have argued it violates the common law "castle doctrine" that protects against entry into one's home. The court maintained Tuesday that blocking entry does not legally include battering a police officer in the process.
"We hold that the Castle Doctrine is not a defense to the crime of battery or other violent acts on a police officer," Justice Steven David wrote in the majority opinion.
While the court did not substantively change its May ruling, it did clarify that it never intended to gut the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure, said Charles Geyh, law professor at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law.
"Our earlier opinion was not intended to, and did not, change that existing law about the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, and papers against unreasonable searches and seizures," David wrote.
Geyh said, "That's a subtle distinction, but a meaningful one."
The new decision says the ruling does nothing more than bring Indiana law in line with other states and that the argument of "a man's home is his castle" isn't a defense for attacking a police officer.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller was one of many leaders who asked the court to reconsider its position. He said he was satisfied with the additional explanation the justices laid out Tuesday.
"The Indiana Supreme Court's ruling today means that individuals still have the common law right of reasonable resistance to an unlawful entry, though there is never justification for committing battery against a police officer," Zoeller said in a statement.
State lawmakers studied the issue this summer and are considering introducing legislation to better define when and how someone can resist police entering their home.
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