Walk It Through: The Call to the House
A shouting match, a neighbor's call, two stories, and the twelve hour rule.
A neighbor hears yelling and a crash and calls the police. Officers knock at the door.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A first call to a house over a fight between partners. Children in the home, a weapon, and a call that becomes a felony are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- ArrestTaking a person into custody in the manner the law authorizes, so the person can answer for an offense.
- MagistrateThe judicial officer before whom someone arrested without a warrant is taken without unnecessary delay, and where the complaint is made.
- Predominant aggressorThe household member an officer looks for, after considering self-defense, when two people both complain of domestic violence.
- Disorderly conductFighting, unreasonable noise, abusive language in public and the other listed acts, done with intent to harass, annoy or alarm, or in reckless disregard that someone is.
- Residential responsibilityThe parent's responsibility for where the child lives, which a motion can change after two years or sooner on the listed grounds.