What is the test for a search of a home by a police officer in a domestic violence incident?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Martinez, 406 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir. 2005):

Here, the officer responded to an interrupted 911 call concerning domestic violence at a residence known to the officer as the source of prior episodes of domestic violence. On arrival, he observed a crying woman in the front yard and heard continued angry yelling from the interior of the house. He reasonably believed there was an emergency at hand and an immediate need for his assistance for the protection of life or property. He entered the house and proceeded to the bedroom where the defendant was located. In moving the defendant out of the bedroom, the officer saw the firearms. His observation was not motivated by an intent to arrest and seize evidence, but rather was incidental to the officer's management of the situation. The living room where the weapons were discovered was the part of the premises in which the emergency situation had arisen and was logically used by the officer as a place to defuse the situation. As such, there was a sufficient nexus between it and the emergency for the doctrine to apply. Cf. United States v. Deemer, 354 F.3d 1130, 1132-33 (9th Cir.2004) (holding that a search of a motel room was not justified by the emergency doctrine because there was not a reasonable basis to associate the emergency with the area to be searched).

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