Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Oregon

plain view vs. the use of a flashlight

My son was stopped by a state police officer while on campus at a local university and while he was not driving his car, and the car was turned off and occupied by a friend, the officer found a bong, which he said was in plain view, but in fact admitted in court that he had used a flashlight to see into the back of the car, and that after coming across the bong, he asked for permission to search and was denied, but searched anyway. Is plain view, plain view; what you can see with the naked eye, or can it be assisted by the use of a flashlight on a dark evening at 11:00 p.m.?


Asked on 6/19/02, 1:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

Re: plain view vs. the use of a flashlight

If an object can be seen through the window without opening the vehicle in any way, then it is in plain view. Whether the light enabling the object to be seen is natural or artifical makes no difference.

The better question is why the evidence isn't suppressed when it was seized without permission to search and without a search warrant.

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Answered on 6/19/02, 7:12 pm


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