The Emerging Decay of Fourth Amendment Protection

New Court Ruling Would Benefit Utah County Police, Not Citizens

Provo police and other Utah County police agencies are probably wishing the Utah Supreme Court would hand down a ruling like the ruling the Indiana Supreme Court issued this past week.  They would probably think this because the ruling greatly expands their power to violate individual privacy rights and set aside that pesky constitution so many police officers find too restricting.  Provo criminal defense lawyers hope that Utah courts don’t follow Indiana so individuals are protected from police abuse.

Court Ruling Practically Abolishes 4th Amendment

The Indiana Supreme Court this past week basically found that the Fourth Amendment no longer restricts police officers from entering a home without a valid warrant.  Traditional law dating back to the Magna Carta as well as the Fourth Amendment prohibit officers from entering one’s home without either permission or a valid search warrant issued by a court.  In Barnes v. State, however, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that a police officer does not need permission from a homeowner to enter a dwelling even if the officer doesn’t have a warrant.

The Barnes court found that a man was guilty for offenses such as assault on a police officer because he would not allow police to enter his home and attempted to physically restrain them.  The officers were investigating a domestic violence case and did not have a warrant at the time.  With the ruling by the Indiana Court, a police officer in Indiana can enter into anyone’s home at anytime for any reason and the homeowner can do nothing to stop the officer.  The Court said that if the officer entered unlawfully then the homeowner could use the court system to rectify the problem. What’s strange though, is that if the Court says an officer can enter one’s home anytime for any reason, how could an officer ever enter unlawfully?  Utah criminal defense lawyers are grateful they don’t have to deal with this ruling in Utah.

Utah County Police Don’t Have Unlimited Powers

Utah County residents should be happy that they don’t live in Indiana.  The Fourth Amendment is still protected in Utah County but that doesn’t mean Provo and other city police agencies don’t violate this great amendment.  Call a Provo Criminal Defense lawyer if you have been charged with a crime.  Our attorneys will make sure your Fourth Amendment rights are protected.  Call 801.800.8246 to speak with a Provo Criminal Defense lawyer today.

Comments are closed.