California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Melvin, F067516 (Cal. App. 2015):
"If a police officer lawfully pats down a suspect's outer clothing and feels an object whose contour or mass makes its identity immediately apparent, there has been no invasion of the suspect's privacy beyond that already authorized by the officer's search for weapons; if the object is contraband, its warrantless seizure would be justified by the same practical considerations that inhere in the plain-view context." (Minnesota v. Dickerson, supra, 508 U.S. at pp. 375-376, fn. omitted.)
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An officer, having felt or seen an object, may not remove an item unless its contour or mass makes its identity as narcotics or contraband "'"immediately apparent."'" (Minnesota v. Dickerson, supra, 508 U.S. at p. 375.) In Minnesota v. Dickerson for example, the search was found to be invalid where the officer was able to determine that a small lump in the defendant's jacket was narcotics only by manipulating the lump with his fingers. (Id. at p. 378.)
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