Assignment
Remember to incorporate the elements, or requirements, of the Plain View Doctrine into your discussions.
i. In United States. v. Riley, 488 U.S. 445 (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court held in a plurality opinion that police observations of marijuana from a helicopter flying at a distance of four hundred (400) feet above defendant's greenhouse located in the curtilage of his home did not violate defendant's reasonable expectation of privacy. As a result, this surveillance did not constitute a "search" under the Fourth Amendment, and no warrant was required. How would you argue that this did violate the home owner's reasonable expectation of privacy? What if the police instead used a thermal imaging camera to see inside the home to see the use of lighting usually associated with growing marijuana plants? How might the use of a drone in this scenario impact your determination?
ii. In United States v. McLevain, 310 F.3d 434 (6th Cir. 2002), officers executing a search warrant for a residence authorizing the seizure of two individuals, one of whom did not live at the residence, found the following items in plain view: a twist tie and a cut cigarette filter under the bed in the master bedroom; a spoon with residue on a tackle box in a sink in the garage (an officer "seized" this residue at the scene and conducted a test to determine if it was an illegal drug); and a prescription bottle, with no label, filled with a clear liquid that looked like water (the bottle was found on a mantle in the home). The court did not admit any of the items as illegal contraband. Why? Change the facts presented here such that the items seized WOULD be admissible pursuant to the Plain View Doctrine.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.