Utah Supreme Court hears argument on whether state constitution protects a common-law "right to resist" unlawful searches

David Ferguson, counsel for defendant Leslie Abner, urged the Utah Supreme Court to recognize a common-law "right to resist" unlawful searches and seizures rooted in the state constitution and historical practice. "There's a common law right to resist unlawful searches and seizures," Ferguson told the justices, arguing that in some circumstances that right should operate like self-defense and could justify either a jury instruction or, in narrow cases with undisputed facts, judicial suppression of evidence.

Jeff Mann, representing the State of Utah, pushed back that the court need not reach a broad constitutional holding to resolve this appeal. He told the court the simplest disposition would be to affirm because officers had a warrant here: "The easiest way for this court to dispose of this appeal and affirm the conviction is by saying, the police had a warrant, therefore, the…