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S.D.W.Va.: Plain feel by a narc is different

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Plain feel to an experienced drug officer is apparently different than other plain feels. If a narc knows its drugs, that supports plain feel. United States v. Willis, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39853 (S.D. W.Va. April 22, 2010): [T]he plain feel doctrine "does not require absolute certainty that the object is contraband." United States v. Jones, 303 F. Supp. 2d 702, 706 (D. Md. 2004). "To the contrary, the plain feel doctrine, like the plain view doctrine, only requires that the officer have probable cause to believe that the object is contraband by the time he realizes it is not a weapon." Id. (citations omitted). At the other end of the spectrum, the officer is not allowed to determine if an item is contraband by "squeezing, sliding, and otherwise manipulating the contents of defendant's pocket...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 25, 2010 (boomark / email).