NCJ Number
96921
Journal
Vermont Law Review Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1982) Pages: 59-70
Date Published
1982
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The trend toward allowing warrantless arrest in wife abuse cases reflects a developing consensus that traditional law enforcement by police is more useful in deterring subsequent abuse than the mediation/crisis intervention approach developed in the early 1970's.
Abstract
Arrest in domestic violence cases protects the victim, communicates the message that a crime has been committed, and places the burden on the State rather than the victim to initiate further action. While a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Payton v. New York, limited the power of police to make a warrantless arrest in the home of the person arrested, this decision does not appear to apply to State laws expanding police powers to make warrantless arrests in domestic cases. Currently 27 States have such laws, and most impose conditions that must be met before a warrantless arrest can be made. Most laws mention domestic abuse or were enacted as part of a domestic violence package. Only a few of the new laws require that police make an arrest for spouse assault when there is probable cause. The inclusion of explicit mandatory duties is desirable for many reasons -- it clarifies the legislature's intent to reduce family violence, reduces police discretion to treat family violence as a trivial matter, and provides the basis for a lawsuit if the police fail to make an arrest where probable cause is present. Most laws expanding police powers to make warrantless arrests for domestic abuse powers to make warrantless arrests for domestic abuse explicitly protect the officer from civil liability, although they cannot guarantee police will not be sued for false arrest. The article contains 65 footnotes.