What is the plain view doctrine in the context of a search and seizure?

For the plain view doctrine to apply, the officers must be in a lawful position to view the items, the items must reasonably appear to be contraband or evidence of a crime, and the discovery must be inadvertent. Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730, 737, 103 S.Ct. 1535, 1541, 75 L.Ed.2d 502 (1983) (plurality); United States v. Chesher, 678 F.2d 1353, 1356-57 (9th Cir.1982). Washington counters that the government cannot meet this test because the items that the officers seized were not on their face evidence of criminal activity. We must, therefore, determine whether the officers acted impermissibly by putting aside items that they thought were evidence of prostitution.