Matthew J. Ruff Domestic Violence Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Oftentimes when police are called out to a domestic violence situation the encounter involves entry into a person's home.  It is this entry that will sometimes lead to issues relating to unlawful search and siezure or 4th amendment violations.  According to some Long Beach Domestic Violence Attorneys the police will in many cases find a reason to gain entry into the dwelling to check for suspects or effect an arrest.

One popular way to justify the search is under the community caretaking exception created by some Courts, Under the emergency aid exception, police officers "may enter a dwelling without a warrant to render emergency aid and assistance to a person whom they reasonably believe to be in distress and in need of that assistance. 'The need to protect or preserve life or avoid serious injury is justification for what would be otherwise illegal absent an exigency or emergency.'Courts have held and the police may seize any evidence that is in plain view during the course of their legitimate emergency activities according to many Courts.

According to one very well known legal commentator, Professor Lafave: Professor LaFave discusses at some length the distinction between entering premises with the intent of investigating suspected or known crimes and entering for other reasons. "Preceding sections of this Chapter have been concerned with the entry of private premises by police for the purpose of arresting a person thought to be within or for the purpose of finding the fruits, instrumentalities or evidence of some past crime. Although it is entries for those purposes which most often give rise to a motion to suppress, requiring a ruling upon the validity of the entry and subsequent conduct of the police, quite clearly police have occasion to enter premises without a warrant for a variety of other purposes. The police, when dealing with domestic violence cases,  have 'complex and multiple tasks to perform in addition to identifying and apprehending persons committing serious criminal offenses'; by design or default, the police are also expected to 'reduce the opportunities for the commission of some crimes through preventive patrol and other measures,' 'aid individuals who are in danger of physical harm,' 'assist those who cannot care for themselves,' 'resolve conflict,' 'create and maintain a feeling of security in the community,' and 'provide other services on an emergency basis.'

The frequency of these types of searches will ony increase as Domestic Violence cases become more common.