Today, we’ll help you learn more about the Plain View Doctrine, an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s search warrant requirement that all citizens should know about.
What is the Plain View Doctrine?
The Plain View Doctrine is a rule that allows police to seize evidence without a search warrant as long as that evidence is in plain sight (hence the name of this exception to the Fourth Amendment’s search warrant requirement).
For evidence discovered using the Plain View Doctrine to be valid, three requirements must be met:
- The officer must be legally present in the location where the evidence is.
- The officer must have legal access to the object.
- The incriminating nature of the object must be immediately obvious.
What does this mean for you?
Understanding how the Plain View Doctrine works is essential to ensure that your rights are protected. Below are some situations that can help you better understand the Plain View Doctrine.
First Situation
A person agrees to talk to a police officer in their home. While they converse, the officer notices drugs on the table and proceeds to seize the drugs and arrest the person.
In this case, the actions taken by the police officer are legal because they meet all the requirements of the Plain View Doctrine: the officer was legally present in the person’s home, and the incriminating nature of the object was immediately obvious.
Second Situation
A police officer enters a house without permission and notices weapons and drugs visible to the naked eye. Can they seize the evidence and make an arrest?
Here, the officer CANNOT seize the objects and make an arrest because they do not have the legal right to be in the house in the first place. This means that one of the fundamental requirements of the Plain View Doctrine is not met, and therefore the rule cannot be applied.
