Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog
Fort Lauderdale domestic violence defense often begins at the front door, with a simple question: Did officers have the legal right to come inside? Domestic violence calls bring police to private homes perhaps more than almost any other kind of call. Officers arrive fast, often at night, sometimes to a scene that has already calmed down. The Fourth Amendment (federal and state) protects the right of the people to be secure in their homes from unreasonable intrusion. “Unreasonable” usually means they either need When the law did not allow that entry, the evidence they found and the statements they took can be thrown out of court.
The Home Gets the Strongest Protection
The Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution protect people against unreasonable searches and seizures. Florida courts treat a warrantless search of a home as unreasonable on its face unless the State proves a recognized exception. The burden sits with the State, not with the accused.
The U.S. Supreme Court drew a firm line at the threshold in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980). Without a warrant, consent, or an emergency, officers may not cross it to make a routine arrest.
That rule matters in domestic cases because Florida gives officers broad arrest power. Section 901.15(7) allows a warrantless arrest when an officer has probable cause to believe a person committed an act of domestic violence. Arrest power, however, does not automatically equal the power to enter into your home. An officer may have probable cause to arrest and still have no right to walk into the house to make that arrest.
A Domestic Violence Call Is Not a Warrant
There is no domestic violence exception to the warrant requirement exists. However, it is possible that, given the nature of these calls, officers may claim there was some type of emergency that necessitated their entry. In order for this exception to apply, officers need a specific legal basis. The three most common grounds for warrantless entry into a home in domestic cases are (1) emergency aid, (2) consent, and (3) hot pursuit.
The Emergency Aid Exception After Case v. Montana
Most warrantless entries in domestic cases rest on the emergency aid exception. The rule comes from Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (2006). In that U.S. Supreme Court case, officers watched through a window as a fight broke out inside a home and a person was struck in the face hard enough to draw blood. The Court held officers may enter without a warrant when they have an objectively reasonable basis to believe someone inside is seriously injured or about to be.
The Supreme Court revisited that standard earlier this year. In Case v. Montana, decided unanimously on January 14, 2026, officers entered a man’s home after his ex-girlfriend called 911 and reported he was threatening suicide. The defense argued that officers needed probable cause of an emergency. The Court rejected that argument and reaffirmed the Brigham City standard: an objectively reasonable basis to believe an occupant is seriously injured or imminently threatened with serious harm. The Court also criticized the looser test the Montana Supreme Court had applied, which borrowed from rules for brief street stops.
Case matters for domestic cases in Broward County for two reasons. It confirms that a call from a current or former partner can supply the basis for an emergency entry. It also confirms that the test is objective. Officers must point to facts, not instincts.
A second Supreme Court case limits the exception from the other side. In Caniglia v. Strom, 593 U.S. 194 (2021), the Court refused to recognize a general “community caretaking” exception that would let officers enter homes to check on welfare without a true emergency.
What Florida Courts Require
Florida courts judge exigency by the totality of the circumstances at the moment of entry. What officers found after they walked in does not justify the decision to walk in. The Florida Supreme Court has also held that officers who enter to render aid may not enter with an accompanying intent to arrest or search. Riggs v. State, 918 So. 2d 274, 280 (Fla. 2005).
The newest Florida example came in July. In State v. Ford, No. 2D2025-0324 (Fla. 2d DCA July 10, 2026), detectives entered a home without a warrant, citing fear of a suicide attempt. The trial court found their concern rested on a hunch. The officers did not call 911. They waited for backup and then searched for an open window to climb through. The trial court found the way they entered undercut any claim of urgency, and the Second District affirmed suppression. One judge dissented, which shows how closely contested these hearings can be.
Consent When Two People Share the Home
Consent is the second common basis for entry, and domestic cases complicate it. Both partners often live in the home. Either may have the legal authority to let police in.
The Supreme Court addressed that conflict in Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103 (2006). When one resident consents and another resident who is physically present expressly refuses, the refusal controls. The Court noted that officers may still enter when they have good reason to believe a resident faces a threat of domestic violence.
Fernandez v. California, 571 U.S. 292 (2014), narrowed that protection. Once officers lawfully arrest and remove the objecting resident, the remaining resident’s consent is enough. The key word is lawfully. An arrest built on an unlawful entry cannot supply the basis for the next search.
Consent must also be voluntary. Consent given by a frightened partner under pressure, or after officers were already inside, is open to challenge.
What Officers May Do Once Inside
A lawful emergency entry is not a license to search the house. The Supreme Court held in Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385 (1978), that a warrantless search must be strictly limited to the emergency that justified it. Once officers confirm everyone is safe, the emergency ends.
Officers may seize evidence they see in plain view while they are lawfully present and before the emergency ends. Seibert, 923 So. 2d at 470. They may not open drawers, search closets, or scroll through a phone to build a case. A protective sweep after an arrest is limited to spaces where a dangerous person could hide. Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325 (1990).
What Gets Suppressed
The exclusionary rule reaches more than physical evidence. When an entry is unlawful, courts can suppress what officers saw inside, including photographs of injuries, broken furniture, and a weapon on a counter. Statements the accused made after the entry can fall too, as fruit of the unlawful search under Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (1963).
In a domestic case, that can change everything. Florida’s own judicial training materials on criminal domestic violence proceedings devote a full section to warrantless entry, because judges in these courtrooms see the issue regularly. When the alleged victim does not cooperate, officer observations and the accused’s own words may be the State’s entire case. Suppressing them — with the help of an experienced Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney — can end the prosecution’s case.
How the Motion Works
The defense raises the issue through a motion to suppress under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190(g). The court holds an evidentiary hearing. Officers testify about what they knew before they entered. Defense counsel tests that testimony against 911 recordings, dispatch logs, CAD reports, and body camera footage. The timeline often decides the motion. A recording that shows several calm minutes on the doorstep before entry can defeat a claim of emergency.
The Record Is Built in the First Hours
Suppression motions are won with details. What did the 911 caller actually say? What could officers see and hear from the doorstep? How long did they wait? Did anyone inside object? Who opened the door, and when? Dispatch audio, body camera files, and neighbor recollections can disappear or fade. Defense counsel who move early can preserve that record before the State makes its charging decision.
Richard Ansara is a criminal defense lawyer who represents people charged with domestic violence offenses in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Broward County. If you have been arrested, contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible.
