Plain View:
Petitioner was convicted of the armed robbery of the treasurer of a coin club following denial of his motion to suppress weapons seized by police from his residence. After an appellate court affirmed the conviction, petitioner sought certiorari. The Supreme Court affirmed. The Court concluded that, though inadvertence was a characteristic of most legitimate plain view seizures, it was not a necessary condition, so that the items seized from petitioner's home were discovered during a lawful search authorized by a valid warrant. When the weapons were discovered, it was immediately apparent to the police officer that they constituted incriminating evidence. The officer had probable cause, not only to obtain a warrant to search for the stolen property, but also to believe that the weapons and handguns had been used in the crime he was investigating. The search was authorized by the warrant, and the seizure was authorized by the plain view doctrine. The scope of the search was not enlarged in the slightest by the omission of any reference to the weapons in the warrant. The court affirmed petitioner's armed robbery conviction because weapons seized from his residence were discovered during a lawful search authorized by a valid warrant and the seizure was authorized by the plain view doctrine. Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128 (1990).
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· Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 US 443 (1971)
· Texas v. Brown, 460 US 730 (1983)
