When Police Are Called to a House
10 Del. C. § 1046 — a protective order violation means an arrest, with or without a warrant
An officer may arrest without a warrant, even for something that happened out of the officer's presence, for any misdemeanor involving physical injury or the threat of it, and for a violation of a protective order.
An order violation means an arrest. A law enforcement officer shall arrest, with or without a warrant, anyone the officer has probable cause to believe violated a protective order the person had notice or knowledge of. A copy that names both people and is in effect on its face is probable cause that the order exists.
The person arrested is taken immediately before the Family Court, or the nearest justice of the peace when it is not in session, and bail takes account of earlier violations.
The Fourth Amendment draws its firmest line at the entrance to a home, and the Supreme Court of the United States has held where it falls in situations police meet at a door. Absent consent or exigent circumstances, officers may not enter a home without a warrant to make a routine felony arrest. Where one occupant consents to a search of a shared home and another who is physically present expressly refuses, the search is unreasonable as to the one who refused. And officers may enter without a warrant when they have an objectively reasonable basis for believing someone inside is seriously injured or imminently threatened with such injury. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
A particular call is a question for a licensed Delaware attorney.
Sources for this section (5)
- 11 Del. C. § 1904 — Arrest without warrant
- 10 Del. C. § 1046 — Enforcement; sanctions for violation of order
- Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980) — Warrantless entry into a home to make a routine arrest is barred
- Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103 (2006) — A present occupant's refusal defeats another occupant's consent
- Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (2006) — Police may enter to render emergency aid
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Delaware attorney.