Plain view doctrine
The Plain View Doctrine is a legal principle in U.S. law that allows law enforcement officers to seize evidence of a crime without a warrant if it is clearly visible while they are lawfully present in a location. This doctrine serves as an exception to the Fourth Amendment's general requirement for search warrants. To apply the doctrine, three key conditions must be met: officers must be in a legally permissible position when they observe the evidence, the evidence must be immediately apparent as related to criminal activity, and the officers must have lawful access to the items for seizure.
The doctrine often comes into play during various law enforcement activities, such as traffic stops or searches of residences. For instance, if officers executing a valid search warrant discover additional incriminating evidence in plain sight, they can seize it without obtaining a separate warrant. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has expanded the doctrine to include "plain touch," allowing officers to identify and seize items during lawful pat-downs if they can ascertain that these items are likely evidence of a crime based solely on their tactile sensation. Overall, the Plain View Doctrine balances law enforcement's need to act quickly in the face of observable criminal activity with individuals' constitutional rights.
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Plain view doctrine
SIGNIFICANCE: The US Supreme Court has extended the plain view doctrine to include other senses, such as “plain touch.”
The Fourth Amendment requires law enforcement officers to obtain search warrants to search for and seize evidence. The plain view doctrine is one of the exceptions to the search warrant requirement established by the Supreme Court. Three main elements must be satisfied for the plain view doctrine to apply. First, law enforcement officers must be legally present in the places where they are making their observations. Second, the law enforcement officers must believe that the items they are viewing are “immediately apparent” to be evidence of a crime. Finally, the officers must have lawful access to the items to seize them without warrants.
Law enforcement officers often invoke the plain view doctrine during car stops and searches of houses. For example, if officers are serving a valid search warrant on a home for drugs and happen to find evidence of child pornography in plain view, they may seize it without obtaining an additional warrant. However, if the officers do not have a warrant and see evidence of a crime while entering a home unlawfully, they cannot seize it to be used at trial. Similarly, if police officers were lawfully to stop a motorist for speeding and plainly see a dead body in the back seat of the motorist’s vehicle, they may seize the body without obtaining a search warrant.
The Supreme Court has extended the plain view doctrine to include “plain touch.” This is most commonly applied when police officers are conducting lawful pat-downs of suspects and touch the suspects’ pockets or clothing. If the officers can identify, without tactile manipulation, that items they feel are probable evidence of crimes, and if they have lawful access to the items, they can seize those items without a search warrant.
Bibliography
del Carmen, Rolando V., and Jeffery T. Walker. Briefs of Leading Cases in Law Enforcement. 9th ed. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.
Hall, John Wesley, Jr. Search and Seizure. 5th ed. 2 vols. New Providence: LexisNexis, 2013. Print.
Harr, J. Scott, et al. Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System. 6th ed. Stamford: Cengage, 2015. Print.
Hubbart, Phillip A. Making Sense of Search and Seizure Law: A Fourth Amendment Handbook. Durham: Carolina Acad., 2005. Print.
LaFave, Wayne R. Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment. 5th ed. Vol. 3. St. Paul: West, 2012. Print.
"Plain View Doctrine." Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, Apr. 2021, www.law.cornell.edu/wex/plain‗view‗doctrine‗0. Accessed 8 July 2024.