U.S. Supreme Court to Decide if Police Can Barge in Unannounced
NEW YORK - Forget the ongoing privacy debate over U.S. government spying on telephone conversations--soon you may not have the right to tell cops to wait until you open your door.
In a case involving a private citizen and police authorities of the Midwestern state of Michigan, a team of civil rights lawyers appeared before the Supreme Court this week to challenge the police practice of storming into homes to look for whatever they want as evidence of a crime.
Well.... Some of us shoot at intruders.
Hudson's lawyers argued that police had no right to enter his home without knocking at the door and announcing their presence, which is a requirement under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"It is undisputed that the police violated the Fourth Amendment by barging into Hudson's home," says David Moran, a law professor at Wayne State University, who appeared before the Supreme Court Monday on Hudson's behalf.
The fourth amendment states that, "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." It also notes that warrants shall only be issued once authorities have established "probable cause" and described the people, places, and things to be searched and seized.
Apparently we don't use the Constitution anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment