Officers lawfully arrested the occupants of an auto and, after impounding it, began an
inventory of the contents of the vehicle. One officer picked up a jacket on the front seat
where an occupant had been sitting and noticed on the seat a burned cigarette which
appeared to the officer to be marijuana. How are the courts most likely to view the
officer’s action?
a. a valid search under the Carroll doctrine.
b. an illegal warrantless search
c. justifiable as a plain view seizure during an inventory
d. valid because of exigency
Officers executing a lawful search warrant for stolen guns have located all the weapons
listed in the search warrant. An officer is admiring the suspect’s beer mug collection and
takes down a mug from a shelf and discovers marijuana inside it. The officer should
_____.
a. replace the marijuana and go get another warrant
b. justify the seizure of the marijuana as plain view
c. call the judge to amend the warrant
d. realize that the marijuana is inadmissible under the plain view doctrine