A constable who has a Writ of Sequestration to serve tomorrow has posed this question: If the Writ says the Constable is to take possession of furniture, and the owners don't allow him entry into their home to pick up the furniture, does he have authority to make entry into their home?

Hope some of you can help me out with this one. I'm a little rusty on Writs of Sequestration...

I am working off of memory here so I can not guarantee this but the answer is No. The only time a constable can make unwelcome entry to a person's home is to serve a Writ of Possession following an eviction proceeding. In your case, if the person refuses entry the party who obtained the Writ of Sequestration would have to file a Motion to Compel with the court, have the person served with a Show Cause order, the court conducts a hearing. The court then orders the person in possession to hand over the furniture to the constable under threat of contempt. By this time the party wanting to keep the furniture will either give it up voluntarily, post a replevy bond, move, hide the furniture, or destroy it. Naturally this could result in criminal charges if the person takes the stupid action.

I agree that the answer is 'no'. Exception: written and signed court order permitting forced entry in the specific case. But it is the plaintiff who seeks the court order, not the constable.