Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Gomes
Massachusetts Appeals Court
Decided September 19, 2003No. 02-P-441PublishedCited by 13 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtGrasso, J.
May an individual forcibly resist a warrantless police entry into his residence that is later determined to be unlawful, or is the right forcibly to resist police limited by the rule of Commonwealth v. Moreira, 388 Mass. 596, 601 (1983), to resistance against excessive or unnecessary force upon his person? We hold that absent the use of excessive or unnecessary force by police upon his person, an individual may not forcibly resist even an unlawful entry into his residence by one who he knows or has good reason to believe is a police officer engaged in the performance of his duties.2
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2Cases cited48 opinions
- Wong Sun v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
- United States v. RussellSupreme Court of the United States · 1973
- Wolf v. ColoradoSupreme Court of the United States · 1949
- Minnesota v. OlsonSupreme Court of the United States · 1990
- Harris v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1947
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3Cited by13 opinions
- Commonwealth v. PaganMassachusetts Appeals Court · 2005
- Cody J. Tingey v. StateWyoming Supreme Court · 2017
- Barnes v. StateIndiana Supreme Court · 2011
- Commonwealth v. GrahamMassachusetts Appeals Court · 2004
- Commonwealth v. LenderMassachusetts Appeals Court · 2006
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.