The following excerpt is from LEWIS v. EVANS, No. CIV S-05-1136 GEB EFB P (E.D. Cal. 2011):
9 The rationale of the plain-view doctrine is that if contraband is left in open view and is observed by an officer from a lawful vantage point, there has been no invasion of a legitimate expectation of privacy and thus no search within the context of the Fourth Amendment. Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U. S. 366, 375 (1993).
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