Police Don’t Need Home Warrant if Abuse Suspected : Domestic violence: Ruling based on a Newport Beach case where police thought a woman was being beaten but found drugs. Some think Simpson case spurred decision.

Police officers may enter a home without a search warrant when they suspect someone may be in danger of domestic violence even if that person says everything is all right, a state appeals court ruled in a Newport Beach case.

In that 1992 case, police entered a home in the belief a woman had been beaten by her boyfriend, but found drugs instead and arrested the couple.

The 4th District Court of Appeal, in a 3-0 ruling issued Tuesday, upheld their subsequent drug convictions, saying the apparent domestic violence emergency authorized police to enter without a search warrant.

Past rulings, from California and elsewhere, recognize that “probable cause of ongoing spousal abuse at a residence warrants immediate police intervention,” the court said.

The court didn’t mention the heavily publicized case of O.J. Simpson, who is accused of killing his ex-wife and a friend were slain two weeks ago. But one defense lawyer said Wednesday the justices may have had the convicted wife beater on their minds when they decided to issue the ruling as a published decision that other courts can cite as a precedent.

“Once the O.J. deal went down, I knew this case was going to be a loser,” said Brian P. Trela, whose client, Melissa Ayotte, tried to discourage police from entering the home.

“I think this case is probably going to encourage police to enter a residence or at least make contact with all subjects in domestic violence cases,” Trela said. That isn’t necessarily a bad policy, he said, but “there is a Fourth Amendment right of people to be left alone.”

Added Douglas Benedon, lawyer for co-defendant John Anthony Higgins: “It’s a very sensitive area and I certainly understand the court’s concern, but I don’t think it warrants a wholesale writing off of the Fourth Amendment.”

Deputy Atty. General Warren Robinson said the ruling “may well help in situations of domestic violence.”

“It shows that police don’t have to blindly accept what the apparent victim tells them,” he said. “They can look at the totality of the circumstances.”

The case arose late one night in September, 1992 when Newport Beach police received an anonymous report of a domestic disturbance involving a “man shoving a woman around,” according to the court.

Officers first went to the back door, but when no one responded, they walked to the front door. While doing so, one officer saw a man inside and heard a shout.

When the officers knocked on the front door, Ayotte answered. Officers said she was breathing heavily and appeared “extremely frightened.” She had a “little red mark” under one eye and slight darkness under both eyes, according to the court.

One officer testified that based on his experience, he believed the red mark was caused by Ayotte being struck or slapped in the face. The officer told her why they were there and asked if she was all right. She said yes, and that the red mark was a birthmark. She also told the officers she had fallen down the stairs and the noise from the fall may have prompted someone to call the police. When asked if she was alone, the woman told officers she was, although she said her boyfriend had been there earlier.

The officers knew she wasn’t alone, and that battered women commonly deny being abused.

Inside the house, they met Higgins and discovered marijuana and cocaine on the floor.

After Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Richard Aronson upheld the search, Ayotte and Higgins pleaded guilty and were given short sentences, which they have completed, their lawyers said.