When Police Are Called To A House
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-404.02 and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-439 — an arrest without a warrant for household violence, and the predominant aggressor
Household members. On reasonable cause of bodily injury, a physical menace or nonconsensual sexual contact against a household member, an officer may arrest without a warrant, whether or not it happened in the officer's presence.
Where complaints of domestic assault come from both sides, the officer evaluates each to find the predominant aggressor, weighing prior complaints, the injuries, the likelihood of future injury and justified self defense, and need not arrest the other person.
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.
An officer arresting on a felony may break open a door after giving notice and being refused. Whether a particular entry was lawful is a question for a licensed Nebraska attorney.
Sources for this section (6)
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-404.02 — Arrest without warrant; when; court appearance
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-439 — Domestic assault; arrest; conditions; report required
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-411 — Warrants and arrests; powers of officer; direction for executing search warrant; damages
- 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 Nebraska attorney.