In what circumstances will a police officer be permitted to search a person's pocket containing heroin?

In People v. Lee (1987) 194 Cal.App.3d 975, the officer had lawfully detained the defendant on a reasonable suspicion he was selling drugs. During the patdown search for weapons, the officer felt a clump of small resilient objects. The officer knew these were not weapons, but he believed they were heroin-filled balloons. The officer reached inside the pocket and removed the heroin. (Id. at p. 980.) The court held the scope of the search to be lawful. The court held that the officer was not engaging in "fanciful speculation" but had formed a "definite belief based on articulable facts and on considerable training and experience in the tactile characteristics of narcotics-filled balloons." (Id. at p. 984.) The crucial issue in each case is that the incriminating nature of the object should be "immediately apparent" to the officer.

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