Nev. Rev. Stat. » NRS: CHAPTER 171 - PROCEEDINGS TO COMMITMENT
Nevada Revised Statutes

Nev. Rev. Stat. § 171.138 (2026)

Breaking open door or window: Making arrest

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section NRSleg.state.nv.us (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
NRS 171.138  Breaking open door or window: Making arrest.  To make an arrest, a private person, if the offense is a felony, and in all cases a peace officer, may break open a door or window of the house, structure or other place of concealment in which the person to be arrested is, or in which there is reasonable grounds for believing the person to be, after having demanded admittance and explained the purpose for which admittance is desired.

      (Added to NRS by 1967, 1402; A 1983, 244)

     

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1971–2025 · leading case: Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980). · cites it 2× “§ 29-411 (1975); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 171.138 (1977); N. Y. Crim.”
State v. Luchetti, 486 P.2d 1189 (Nev. 1971). · cites it 6× “[7] In this case, no announcement was made before entry, and it would have been senseless to have done so.”
State v. Weddell, 43 P.3d 987 (Nev. 2002). “NRS 171.138 expressly permits the breaking of a door or window in order to arrest a concealed suspected felon.”
Hatley v. State, 630 P.2d 1225 (Nev. 1981). · cites it 2× “124 1 and NRS 171.138 2 . Respondent further argues that Payton should not be applied retroactively since the purpose of the rule is to deter illegal police activity.”
State v. Weddell, 27 P.3d 450 (Nev. 2001). “NRS 171.138 expressly permits the breaking of a door or window in order to arrest a concealed suspected felon.”
Ser (georgio) v. State, 141 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 57 (Nev. 2025). · cites it 6× “NRS 171.138. Appellant Georgio Mont Ser attempted a citizen’s arrest of Charlotte and Lucy Campbell for alleged distribution of obscene materials in interstate commerce, a federal felony.”
Corbett v. State, 548 P.2d 641 (Nev. 1976). “So far as the record shows, the officers had no reason to believe that either Corbett or Mitchell was in the motel room.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.