The arresting officers acted lawfully pursuant to California law when they retrieved the evidence from Rochin. Due process was not violated because the officers followed procedures set by the state of California. .
Defendant's Legal Argument:.
Rochin was in the privacy of his own home. The Los Angeles officers forcibly entered the home constituting unreasonable search and seizure according to the Fourth Amendment. The tactics used by the officers were egregious because they attempted to force Rochin to vomit by sticking fingers in his mouth. When this barbaric tactic was unsuccessful, the officers illegally seized Rochin to take him to the hospital to have his stomach against his will. This act was also in direct violation of Rochin's Fifth Amendment right prohibiting self-incrimination. The law states that officers must produce evidence by the "fruit of their own labor" not by forcing the defendant to produce it. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the deprivation of a person's liberty without due process of the law. The state cannot interfere by infringing upon the liberty of an individual. Liberty to Rochin meant the right to be in the privacy of his own home without forced entry by the officers. It also meant the right to not have officers forcing him to regurgitate. The evidence was produced by uncivilized behavior. The evidence should not have been admissible in court. .
Rule of Law:.
California government can govern conduct and appropriately punish misconduct, but it is curtailed by the Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment guarantees "the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search and seizures". The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that no person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of the law.
