The right to resist arrest and YOU!

Every so often (most recently in regards to the bad arrest of a Salt Lake City nurse) we see the question pop up on ATS: does a person have the right to resist arrest? The answer to that question is: unless you live in South Carolina, probably not. At least not in the manner that somebody telling you that you do is probably trying to make it sound.

Nearly every time this question comes up, somebody comes strolling along with the nifty seemingly lofty sounding constitution.org link that tells you "why yes, citizen, you most certainly do have the right to resist arrest!" What that person will not tell you is that nearly everything on that page is either a selectively quoted portion of no longer relevant case law or an outright fabrication.

But wait Shamrock! The website has constitution in it! It must be legit, right? Yea, no the guy that owns that page is a computer programmer (which makes the page layout kinda sad, I think) who loves him some tax protesting and militias (think Michigan Militia variety, not National Guard variety). One of his ideas is that jury duty should be considered "militia duty" and that the militia should mean literally everybody, everywhere, and that "the militia" can be "called up" by practically anybody, at any time, for any reason they deem necessary. That fella isn't any sort of expert on law, other than the self-anointed type of expert.

Now, back to the oft-cited yet very wrong link. For one thing, the case law it cites is well over a hundred years old, and has been either nullified or modified since. To be blunt, most states have specifically stated that the people have no right to forcibly resist unlawful arrest. The states that still allow it have generally restricted it in some manner, whether it be to the standard of only using reasonable force to resist unlawful arrest, or stating that the person may only resist unreasonable force but not the arrest itself. Essentially, if your state uses the Model Penal Code, you generally have no right to use force to resist arrest. And, again, those states that do allow for some sort of resistance have generally limited it in some degree.

Here is a point by point rebuttal of the first link. That link highlights the obvious fabrications and selectively quoted material that constitution.org relies on, and demonstrates exactly why they're wrong.

Plummer v State Wiki page for those who want the abridged version

Bad Elk v United States Wiki link for that abridged version

So for those of you asking this question, please do not blindly accept the response that "yep, you sure can." Hell, don't blindly accept my response. This is ATS, take the information and research it yourself. Hopefully you'll arrive at the conclusion that the guy who's literally making up quotes that don't exist in actual case law may not be giving you solid legal advice.

And if for some reason after this you decide that "yep, you sure can" then by all means, go ahead with that belief. But please keep it to yourself before you try it out on your own. Don't encourage others to try something you haven't had a chance to test yourself. But hey, if you try it and it works then keep us posted.

a reply to: Shamrock6


Then why on another thread do you post that link to answer another member's question? As if to imply you do have the right

originally posted by: norhoc
a reply to: Shamrock6


Then why on another thread do you post that link to answer another member's question? As if to imply you do have the right

You should probably go re-read what I said in that other thread about that link, buddy. Allow me to help: My comment was a response to the person that actually posted it

Gotcha moment: denied.

a reply to: Shamrock6


I did and apologize , I see you were commenting to whomever the OP was of that link condemning it. Again I apologize

a reply to: Shamrock6

Awesome. Some of that kind of "helpful information" from pseudo constitution experts (and those freemen on the land types) will get people killed.

a reply to: norhoc

Yep. This thread is the spawn of that comment. Thanks for the apology, but it's not necessary.

a reply to: Abysha

That's a big part of why I wrote this thread. That's a dangerous meme to push on people, and it always seems to come from people who haven't tried it out themselves.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Here's my advice short and sweet: don't piss off cops and don't resist arrest. Who do you think the judge is going to side with when you resist arrest?

Looks like you posted this the same time I replied in the thread. I clicked the link to see what kind of site it was, but it brought up my anti viral protection. Only click constitution.org if you have some anti viral software on just in case. it appears to be just that click bait malware filled site, on top of dangerous info! Thanks again for sharing.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Officer Shamrock.

I have always been a fan of acquitting people who defended themselves with lethal force against the police and managed to go free. Or really, Just Henry Magee

Anyone who thinks you have the right to resist being arrested has never been arrested.

OH HELL no I look like I sound here, I do EXACTLY what the officer says as BEST and as slow as I can...

a reply to: Christosterone

Wrong thread buddy.

a reply to: Shamrock6

For the average person about to be arrested for whatever, the situation is moot, beyond reason, logic or the law. Whatever the reason for thinking you have a right to resist (if you even are thinking at that time and not merely reacting) the consequences of resisting is going to be your ass on the ground one way or another, hopefully you still alive. As the cops frequently say, "We'll sort it all out later,) (as you lay there in bracelets).

a reply to: underwerks
You know what kills me, is 50/50 time I am pulled over, which is at least twice a year, I get the whole "oh man what you doing are you on the way to sell drugs?" To which I just roll my eyes and say "obviously not."
All I do is make sure to state clearly and into the patrol cars camera that I have not approved or consented to any searches . I tell them, why must you waste both of our times??

But After that, I just wait patiently while my vehicle is being tossed. Now I leave my small car as a royal mess, which really pisses them off and brings on a slew of insults while my non-existent rights are being violated. I just smile and remind them that they were wasting their time.

I have never so much as had a possession or drug related charge of any kind, so it is a bit puzzling that always seems to be a go to for them when I am being harassed. Ironically, I do not take it personally, and just try my best not to be murdered during the encounters.

Last time was because I forgot to turn on my lights on the way home from work. That led to me being pulled out, searched, car being searched, and 5 or six deputies keeping an eye on the whole thing. I actually found it rather comical and tried very hard to refrain from teasing the accusing deputy. When he said "oh well you need to watch who you have in your car because I found a little piece of shake, and clean out your damn car!"

oh, like I just wanted to burst out laughing in his face as if he has a mass spectrometer or something in his eyeballs and can tell a piece of shake from the rubbish dirt and crushed pieces of leaves and grass that I do not vacuum out but say once every six months. I didn't want to be shot in the face though for making him in fear of his life from a bruised ego though, so I just said thank you and went home.

originally posted by: cavtrooper7
OH HELL no I look like I sound here, I do EXACTLY what the officer says as BEST and as slow as I can...

Me too.
Last time I got pulled over the first thing I said to the officer was "I carry a firearm sir" and tell them where on my body it was.
Cop didn't even blink and told me " I don't want your pistol, I want you to get your break light fixed".



Gave me a verbal warning and I promised to fix it.
If you are respectful my experience has always been pretty positive.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Henry Magee didn't resist arrest though. Point of fact, when ordered to drop the rifle and come out he fully complied. The whole reason he wasn't indicted was because he didn't know it was law enforcement.

I see the point you're going for with it, but it's not entirely relevant.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
Every so often (most recently in regards to the bad arrest of a Salt Lake City nurse) we see the question pop up on ATS: does a person have the right to resist arrest?

You have all the rights you are able to defend yourself.