The plain view doctrine allows an officer to seize – without a warrant – evidence and contraband found in plain view during a lawful observation. This doctrine is also regularly used by TSA Federal Government Officers while screening persons and property at U.S. airports.
For the plain view doctrine to apply for discoveries, the three-prong Horton test requires:
- the officer to be lawfully present at the place where the evidence can be plainly viewed,
- the officer to have a lawful right of access to the object, and
- the incriminating character of the object to be “immediately apparent.”
In order for the officer to seize the item, the officer must have probable cause to believe the item is evidence of a crime or is contraband. The police may not move objects to get a better view. In Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321 (1987), the officer was found to have acted unlawfully. While investigating a shooting, the officer moved, without probable cause, stereo equipment to record the serial numbers. The plain view doctrine has also been expanded to include the sub doctrines of plain feel, plain smell, and plain hearing.
In Horton v. California 496 U.S. 128 (1990), the court eliminated the requirement that the discovery of evidence in plain view be inadvertent, a requirement that had led to difficulties in defining "inadvertent discovery."
Famous quotes containing the words plain, view and/or doctrine:
“If you are poor, avoid wine as a costly luxury; if you are rich, shun it as a fatal indulgence. Stick to plain water.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“The government, which is the supreme authority in states, must be in the hands of one, or of a few, or of the many. The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, the few, or the many, govern with a view to the common interest.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)
“There is a doctrine uttered in secret that man is a prisoner who has no right to open the door of his prison and run away.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)