When Police Are Called to a House
13 V.S.A. § 1048 — firearms may be removed at a domestic assault arrest, and arraignment comes the next business day
- An officer who arrests or cites someone for domestic assault may remove a firearm that is contraband or evidence.
- The officer may also remove one in the person's immediate possession, in plain view at the scene, or found in a lawful search, when needed to protect the people there.
- A person cited for domestic assault is arraigned on the next business day, except for good cause.
- At arraignment the court issues a written order on releasing the firearms removed.
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.
Sources for this section (4)
- 13 V.S.A. § 1048 — Removal of firearms
- 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 Vermont attorney.