No citizen may be dragged from his house to be conducted before a judge or to prison.

Explanation

The home is so protected that the person within it may not be seized by force — process must be served, not executed by violence at the threshold.

Where this applies

• Police officers break down a man's front door at dawn and drag him out in handcuffs without a warrant or any court order — the maxim holds that no citizen may be seized from his home without proper legal process.
• A code enforcement officer enters a family's home without permission and physically removes the father to take him to a hearing — the law forbids dragging a citizen from his house; process must be served through lawful channels.
• Federal agents surround a home and demand the occupant come out immediately or be forcibly removed, even though no arrest warrant has been issued — the protection of the home requires that proper process precede any seizure of the person within it.

See also

• 2.5.2 The laws permit the taking up of arms against the armed.
• 5.3.2 Every man's house is his safest refuge.