ABSTRACT
The plain view doctrine states that items within the sight of an officer who is legally in a place from which the view is made may be seized without a warrant as long as such items are immediately recognizable as subject to seizure. The open fields doctrine states that items in open fields are not protected by the Fourth Amendment and may be properly seized by an officer without a warrant or probable cause. The leading cases briefed in this chapter on the doctrines of plain view and open fields are Oliver v. United States, United States v. Dunn, and Horton v. California.
