The plain sight doctrine allows police to seize and use as evidence illegal items that are in clear view. This is an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unlawful search and seizure, but police must have probable cause to believe the item is illegal or has been used in a crime.
The plain sight doctrine allows law enforcement officials to seize and enter as evidence of illegal property that falls within their line of sight. It provides an opportunity for the police to take items, even without having an official warrant. In order for an object to be considered in plain sight, or clear site, in terms of doctrine, the law enforcement officer must not move anything and must be engaged in legitimate observation when the object is being observed.
Under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, individuals are protected from unlawful search and seizure. This means that the police cannot search a person, their home, car or any other property, without probable cause. Police must demonstrate probable motive to a judge, who then issues a warrant, before conducting a search.
The simple vision doctrine is an exception to these Fourth Amendment rights. Police are authorized by the Fourth Amendment to conduct random observations and observations in public places. For example, the police are allowed to drive down the street and watch people standing on the corner. The police are also allowed to enter a person’s living room if they invite them in or to stop a person if the person is violating the traffic laws.
When the police are engaged in the type of observation permitted by law, the police may notice unlawful or illegal activity taking place. They can also identify a weapon or something that has been used in a crime, such as stolen property. If the police can clearly see an object that is illegal or has been used to commit illegal activity, the police can then seize that object under the clear vision doctrine. Items taken under the simple vision doctrine will be admissible in a court of law.
Police must have probable reason to believe that any item seized under the simple vision doctrine is illegal or has been used to commit a crime. Police, for example, can’t just take a person’s baseball bat if they see them swinging it in the park. If, however, police learn of a convenience store robbery in which the clerk was hit with a baseball bat and then five minutes later see a man walking down the street with a bloody baseball bat, the police can seize baseball bat as evidence; it was at a simple site and there is probable reason to believe that the bat was used to commit a crime. Similarly, if the police pull over someone for violating a traffic law and they see drugs in the vehicle, the police can seize that evidence and use it against the driver as long as they don’t have to push anything aside to see it.
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