The Ohio Daily Express

SOUTHERN
JUDGE
Frees
Woman
In
Beating
Of Sheriff
JACKSON, Miss. (ANP)
The utter disregard which police officers exhibit for the rights of individuals while seeking criminal evidence was attacked by the state supreme court here in handing down a ruling freeing a Greene county woman on charges of assaulting a sheriff.

The case involved was that of Miss Armal Hartford, convicted in a Greene county circuit court of attacking Sheriff J. F. Green when he attempted to arrest her for allegedly possessing whiskey.

The court, noting that there was an increase in violations of individual rights by police officials, said, "It is better that some crime go unpunished than that these fundamental rights be trampled underfoot."

The opinion, written by associate justice W. G. Roberds, held that the sheriff was trespassing on the woman's property when he entered the backyard without a search warrant and arrested her.

Green had accused the woman of holding a paper bag containing a bottle of whiskey.

Said the opinion, "the history of this section (constitutional section protecting private rights) discloses the aversion of the people to the right and power of the government to invade the homes and private property without proper legal authority."

"It is a poor example to the citizen when the state itself, through its agents, violates the fundamental law of the land."

In a companion case, in which Green was also one of the principals and failed to have a warrant,
the court released Miss Leola Pettis on charges of resisting the sheriff's efforts to arrest a Johnny Bolton on a liquor offense. Bolton took refuge in the woman's home. She tried to prevent Green from searching the house for the fugitive.

The court's opinion, in this instance
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stance, quoted testimony that Green did not ask permission to search the house, and black-jacked the woman when she grabbed his arm. Both Green and his deputy said they did not have a search warrant or a warrant for Bolton's arrest. Miss Pettis had been sentenced to a $300 fine and 90 days in jail.

The court's ruling was; it follows that their act in invading the premises for the purposes of making an unlawful arrest was a plain violation of the constitution.