<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/author/doctorbulldog/> United States Supreme Court Goes Fascist: Rules It's Okay For Police to Break Down Your Door Without Warrant<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/united-states-supreme-court-goes-fascist-rules-its-okay-for-police-to-break-down-your-door-without-warrant/> *doctorbulldog <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/author/doctorbulldog/>* | 17 May, 2011 at 10:54 am | Categories: Abuse of Power<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/?cat=62866>, Insanity <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/?cat=1089>, Law Enforcement<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/?cat=46227>, Orwellian <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/?cat=326029>, Supreme Court<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/?cat=4309>, U.S. Constitution <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/?cat=51155> | URL: http://wp.me/p1NPg-76x
*First they came for the hackers, and I said nothing. Then, they came for the drug users, and I said nothing. Then they came for the bloggers...* *This is absolutely crazy! If you think we're not hurtling at breakneck speeds towards a fascist totalitarian police state, think again!:* *Supreme Court gives police a new entryway into homes* *The Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision in a Kentucky case, says police officers who loudly knock on a door in search of illegal drugs and then hear sounds suggesting evidence is being destroyed may break down the door and enter without a search warrant.* *By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times* - *via Chicago Tribune<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sc-dc-0517-court-search-20110516,0,5858981.story> * WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday gave police more leeway to break into residences in search of illegal drugs. The justices in an 8-1 decision said officers who loudly knock on a door and then hear sounds suggesting evidence is being destroyed may break down the door and enter without a search warrant. *Think about that for a moment: The police can now break your door down if you are merely sitting there on the throne doing your daily business when they come a'knocking and you decide to flush the toilet in the process of cleaning yourself up to answer the door! And, what exactly constitutes "sounds suggesting evidence is being destroyed?" A shuffle? A cough? What? Very nebulous indeed! I mean, what if you, like me, like to walk around the house in your boxer shorts all day long and whenever someone knocks on the door, you have to rustle around a little to grab some pants and throw them on? Is that rustling noise now a go-ahead signal for cops to break down your door?* Residents who "attempt to destroy evidence have only themselves to blame" when police burst in, said Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. *Again I ask, what exactly constitutes sounds suggesting evidence is being destroyed, your honor? The police are going to use any excuse they can to violate your 4th Amendment rights. It's not their fault; they have a job to do and will use any "gray areas" and legal means necessary to accomplish that job. But, the Supreme Court giving police the green light to break down your door if they "think" they hear evidence being destroyed is beyond insane---it's straight out of Nazi Germany! * *Don't blame me when innocent homeowners start shooting and killing "intruders" breaking down their doors only to find out, much to their chagrin, that it was just the po-po doing their jobs---blame the United States Supreme Court Justices!* In a lone dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she feared the ruling in a Kentucky case will give police an easy way to ignore the 4th Amendment. "Police officers may not knock, listen and then break the door down," she said, without violating the 4th Amendment. *Crap! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with her "high"ness on this one!* In the past, the court has said police usually may not enter a home unless they have a search warrant or the permission of the owner. As Alito said, "The 4th Amendment has drawn a firm line at the entrance to the house." *Uh, yeah...It's more like a squiggly line now, wouldn't you say, Mr. Justice Alito?* One exception to that rule involves an emergency, such as screams coming from a house. Police may also pursue a fleeing suspect who enters a residence. Police were attempting to do that in the Kentucky case, but *they entered the wrong apartment*, raising the issue of what is permissible in situations where police have reason to believe evidence is being destroyed. It began when police in Lexington, Ky., were following a suspect who allegedly had sold crack cocaine to an informer and then walked into an apartment building. They did not see which apartment he entered, but when they smelled marijuana smoke come from one of the apartments, they wrongly assumed he had gone into that one. They pounded on the door and called "Police. Police. Police," and heard the sounds of people moving. At this, the officers announced they were coming in, and they broke down the door. They found Hollis King smoking marijuana, and put him under arrest. They also found powder cocaine. King was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 11 years in prison. [...] Alito said the police conduct in this case "was entirely lawful," and they were justified in breaking down the door to prevent the destruction of the evidence. "When law enforcement officers who are not armed with a warrant knock on a door, they do no more than any private citizen may do," he wrote. A resident need not respond, he added. But the sounds of people moving and perhaps toilets being flushed could justify police entering without a warrant, he added. *Oh, you're saying that private citizens may now break down my door and "lawfully" enter my residence if they hear me flushing the toilet? Give me a friggin' break! You know what I do to "private citizens" who break down my door? I shoot them!* "Destruction of evidence issues probably occur most frequently in drug cases because drugs may be easily destroyed by flushing down a toilet," he added. [...] Ginsburg, however, said the court's approach "arms the police with a way routinely to dishonor the 4th Amendment's warrant requirement in drug cases." She said the police did not face a "genuine emergency" and should not have been allowed to enter the apartment without a warrant. *Again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but her "high"ness is absolutely correct on this one!* Add a comment to this post<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/united-states-supreme-court-goes-fascist-rules-its-okay-for-police-to-break-down-your-door-without-warrant/#respond> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/27313/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/27313/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/27313/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/27313/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/27313/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/27313/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/27313/> [image: WordPress] WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com/> | Thanks for flying with WordPress! 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