December 07, 2013

Know Your Rights, so You Can Better Appreciate the Delicate, Whimpering Sounds They Make as They're Being Trampled

The story of the guy who claims police threatened to shoot his dog if he didn’t allow them to search his house without a warrant has been making the rounds, and Volokh has a post on it today.

So, is it or is it not illegal to threaten a citizen with violence in order to coerce him into giving up his constitutional rights "voluntarily"? Seems obvious that it should be illegal, but there seems to be disagreement among the lawyers cited here as to whether it actually is. If it's legal to do that, then the Bill of Rights is effectively optional, seems to me, and that can't be right, can it? Or can it? How can something be simultaneously unconstitutional and legal?

(via Instapundit.)

Posted by Dr. Frank at December 7, 2013 08:59 PM