Earl Warren

“ The court reversed the conviction for resisting an officer on the ground that the resistance must occur while the officer is making an arrest to constitute a crime under the ordinance. However, the court found the arrest was lawful, and since ' [t] he defendant was in police custody pursuant to a legal arrest * * * the officers had the right and the obligation to search the defendant * * *.' It held that 'an individual in lawful police custody' cannot resist the actions of the police in doing their duty, and therefore affirmed the convictions for assault. ”

“ The point is simply that when a controversy arises over the legality of the arrest, the police should be held to the booked offense.↑ For example, one officer might have followed petitioner while the other secured more detailed information about the murder suspect from headquarters, and/or checked petitioner's identification by looking at a phonebook or going to the address he gave them. ”

“ The second principle which the state courts might regard as dispositive in this case was announced by the Louisiana Supreme Court in City of Monroe v. Ducas, 203 La. 971, 14 So.2d 781 (1943) :
'The right of personal liberty is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen, and any unlawful interference with it may be resisted. Every person has a right to resist an unlawful arrest ”

“ The first is the principle of self-defense, which was inferentially raised by petitioner in his appeal to the Criminal District Court and expressly noted in his application to the Louisiana Supreme Court. The idea that an individual cannot be held criminally responsible for acts done in reasonable defense of his person is deeply rooted in our jurisprudence. ”

“ The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society 8 (1967) .↑ See, e. g., New York City Charter and Administrative Code § 435-12.0 (1963) ”