A police officer lawfully pats down a suspect's outer clothing, feels an object, and the contour or mass of the object makes its identity immediately apparent that the item is a bag of cocaine. It is true that _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The officer is legally justified to reach into the suspect's clothing to retrieve the item under the "plain feel" exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. This allows an officer, who is lawfully patting down a suspect's clothing for weapons, to also seize any contraband that is immediately identifiable by its contour or mass during the pat-down.

A Police Officer Lawfully Pats Down a Suspect's Outer Clothing