Jesse James, a 20-year old, was arrested for robbing a bank. As the officer who responded and caught the robber in the act, you are responsible for searching and arresting the suspect. You announce your presence and ask the robber to come out with his hands where you can see them. As you place him up against his car used to get to the bank for pat-down, you note additional weapons on the seat of the car in plain view sight.

Assignment Guidelines

In a 3-5 page paper (not including the cover and reference pages), address the following:

Define the plain view doctrine, and give an example of an exception that may be considered.
Explain and provide examples of how “plain view” is applied during this arrest scenario as the officer does not have an arrest warrant.
Are the other weapons able to be seized? Why or why not?
Does the exception of inevitable discovery apply to this scenario?