Was the seizure of the money from Howard's pocket proper under the "plain feel" doctrine?
Jermain Howard was on probation for cocaine trafficking. His driver's license was revoked as a condition of probation. At a meeting, Wiant, his probation officer, said he saw Howard behind the wheel of a car at a shopping mall warned him against driving. After the meeting Wiant followed Howard into the parking lot and saw him place a key in the driver's side door. No one else appeared to be coming to drive the car. Wiant and a supervisor told Howard to stop. Howard complied. Because it was evening time and dark out, and many people were roaming around the streets, Wiant decided to frisk Howard for weapons before questioning him. The court decided that this stop and frisk was proper. During the pat-down, Wiant felt a lump in Howard's pocket. He testified that the lump felt like a wad of folded paper money and not a weapon. Wiant removed the cash from Howard's pocket and counted $ 361.00 in United States currency in Howard's presence. Wiant knew that Howard was unemployed. Howard said he received the cash from his girlfriend to pay the bill at her child's day care service. Wiant called her and received an inconsistent story. Thinking that the case came from drug dealing, the car was searched and a gun was found.
What will be an ideal response?
No
Although the initial frisk of Howard was justified by safety considerations, the subsequent seizure of the money in Howard's pocket exceeded the permissible scope of a Terry frisk. Under "plain view" and "plain feel" doctrines, the incriminating nature of items in plain view must be immediately apparent.
You might also like to view...
Which of the following principles frames the ideology of al-Qaeda?
a. Violence in a defensive war on behalf of Islam is the only course of action. b. The struggle is a clash of civilizations. c. Holy war is a religious duty and necessary for the salvation of one’s soul. d. All of the above.
Answer the following statement(s) true (T) or false (F)
1. Street gangs are all highly organized, very cohesive, and have centralized leadership. 2. According to Hagedorn’s typology, “dope fiends” view illegal drug sales as their primary career. 3. Street gangs are all violent. 4. The RICO statute prohibits the use of the proceeds from criminal operations from being used to acquire legitimate operations. 5. Internationally, organized crime is confined to one political arena and thrives especially in political climates such as corrupt dictatorships.
Which of the following is an indication of nonprofessional behavior?
a. sharing rumors on inmates b. turning on mobile devices c. falling asleep while on duty d. all of these
The perimeter established for a crime scene should be kept to a minimum size in order to maximize the efficiency of the investigation
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.