ABSTRACT
In Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 US 366, the US Supreme Court was asked to decide whether there was a "plain feel" or "plain touch" exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. In reviewing this issue, the Court was presented with an opportunity to address the scope of protection granted to individuals under the Fourth Amendment when the government seeks to seize property. The case began when two police officers saw Timothy Dickerson leave a Minneapolis, Minnesota, apartment building known for illegal drug activity. The officers chased Dickerson into the alley, where they stopped him and searched him for weapons. In Dickerson, the Supreme Court decided that an officer could legally seize contraband detected through the sense of touch when the officer was legally in position to feel the object. Thus, the Court applied to a new situation the principle that an officer who detects contraband from a lawful vantage point may seize the contraband.
