Plain view doctrine

In the United States, the plain view doctrine is an exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement[1] that allows an officer to seize evidence and contraband that are found in plain view during a lawful observation. The doctrine is also regularly used by Transportation Security Administration officers while screening people and property at American airports.[2]

For the plain view doctrine to apply for discoveries, the three-prong Horton test requires that:[3]

  1. The officer is lawfully present at the place where the evidence can be plainly viewed
  2. The officer has a lawful right of access to the object
  3. The incriminating character of the object is immediately apparent
  1. ^ U. S. Const. amend. IV
  2. ^ Why We Do What We Do: When Security Officers Find Illegal Items at the Checkpoint Transportation Security Administration
  3. ^ Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128 (1990).