Plain-View Doctrine
Definition
A rule permitting an officer who is lawfully present in a location to seize evidence whose incriminating character is immediately apparent, without a warrant covering that specific item. The officer must be there lawfully; the doctrine does not permit entry without authority in order to discover evidence.
- Requirement
- Officer must be lawfully present at the location
- Trigger
- Incriminating character immediately apparent
- Effect
- Permits seizure without a warrant covering that item
- Limit
- Does not authorise entry to search for evidence
Common questions
What can defeat a plain-view seizure in court?+
If the officer's presence at the location was itself unlawful, or if the incriminating nature of the item was not obvious without further inspection or testing, the seizure can be challenged and the evidence potentially excluded.
How does plain view differ from a search incident to arrest?+
Plain view applies to items an officer happens to see while lawfully present for another reason, while search incident to arrest is a separate, narrower authority to search a person and their immediate reach following a lawful arrest.
Related terms
- Chain of Custody
- The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
- Exclusionary Rule
- A rule that evidence obtained in violation of constitutional or statutory search-and-seizure requirements cannot be used at trial. Applied strictly and automatically...
- Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
- A US doctrine extending the exclusionary rule: not only is unlawfully obtained evidence itself excluded, but any further evidence discovered as a...
- Probable Cause / Reasonable Grounds
- The standard of suspicion required before a warrant may issue or a warrantless search may occur. In US law, probable cause requires...
- Search Warrant
- A judicial order authorising officers to enter and search a specified place and seize specified items. In most systems it must describe...