Legal Definitions - immediately-apparent requirement

The immediately-apparent requirement is a principle in criminal procedure that dictates when police officers can seize an item they see in "plain view" without first obtaining a search warrant.

For an item to be lawfully seized under the plain-view exception, two main conditions must be met:

• The officer must be lawfully in the position from which they view the item.
• It must be immediately apparent to the officer, based on their training and experience, that the item is contraband (illegal to possess), evidence of a crime, or an instrument or fruit of a crime.

The "immediately-apparent" aspect means that the officer cannot manipulate, move, or conduct any further investigation of the object to determine its incriminating nature. The illegal or evidentiary character of the item must be obvious from the initial observation, without needing to touch, open, or examine it more closely than is justified by the reason the officer is lawfully present.

Here are some examples illustrating the immediately-apparent requirement:

• Example 1: Clear Contraband

  A police officer pulls over a car for a broken taillight. As the officer approaches the driver's side window, they lawfully observe a clear plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance and a small digital scale sitting openly on the passenger seat. Because the officer is lawfully positioned and the items (the baggie with powder and the scale) are commonly associated with illegal drug activity and are immediately recognizable as potential contraband or drug paraphernalia, the officer can seize them without a warrant. The incriminating nature is immediately apparent.

• Example 2: Not Immediately Apparent

  Police officers are lawfully inside an apartment executing an arrest warrant for a suspect. While searching for the suspect, an officer notices a closed, unmarked cardboard box under a bed. The officer has no prior information about the box or its contents. Even though the officer is lawfully in the room, they cannot open the box to see what's inside. A plain, closed cardboard box is not, by its appearance, immediately apparent as contraband or evidence of a crime. Opening it would constitute a search requiring a separate warrant or another exception to the warrant rule.

• Example 3: Contextual Evidence

  Following a report of a recent bank robbery where a specific, uniquely patterned ski mask was described by witnesses as worn by the robber, an officer is lawfully investigating a suspicious vehicle parked near the bank. Peering through the car's window, the officer sees a ski mask matching the unique description lying on the back seat. Given the proximity to the crime scene and the specific description, the ski mask's evidentiary nature (as a potential instrument of the robbery) is immediately apparent to the officer, allowing for its seizure without a warrant.