“We hold that there is no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers.” 

Jeff Houk, who works as a financial planner in Indianapolis, couldn’t understand how the state Supreme Court could issue such a blatant contradiction to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affrmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

But on May 12, that’s just what the court did in the case of a man who had denied permission for police to enter his apartment and then resisted when one of the officers tried to enter anyway. (See Richard L. Barnes v. State of Indiana at http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/05121101shd.pdf, and described in the previous post, “Hoosier hullabaloo – Indiana Supreme Court okays police home invasions.”)

Houk found others who objected to the ruling on Facebook and discovered they were organizing a protest. That effort attracted roughly 250 people. Houk, however, doesn’t plan to stop there. He plans to start a political action committee whose goal is to convince Indiana citizens to vote “no” on retaining Justice Steven H. David, who wrote the majority 3-2 ruling in the case.

“What motivated me was the knowledge of the possible,” Houk said during a phone interview. “We just didn’t have to put up with a Supreme Court justice who would decide a case like this. Protest is fine, but I’m more into action. I saw the possibility of real action, something significant that could be done.”

He’s studied election returns and determined that only about 10 percent of those who actually vote will need to be convinced. By targeting the largest precincts in the state, Houk thinks it can be done.

For more info, check the Facebook page, “Recall Justice David.”