What is the first requirement for the plain feel exception to permit seizure?

What is the first requirement for the plain feel exception to permit seizure?

• A. Must be lawfully pat down of the subject
• B. Once you disqualify it as a weapon, you then have probable cause that it is contraband
• C. If you have probable cause, you may reach in and grab it
• D. The object must be obviously contraband to the naked eye

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the plain feel rule only applies after a lawful frisk. The first requirement is that the pat-down itself must be lawful—the stop must be based on reasonable suspicion, and the frisk must be limited to feeling for weapons. If the pat-down isn’t lawfully conducted, the plain feel exception cannot justify seizing anything found. Once you’re lawfully patting down, you may seize an object if its contour or mass makes its identity as contraband immediately apparent through touch, and it isn’t a weapon. The other statements mix in elements that don’t fit that sequence: you don’t rely on probable cause to justify the initial pat-down, you can’t reach in purely on probable cause in this context, and contraband doesn’t have to be visible to the naked eye—the critical factor is that it is immediately apparent as contraband by touch.

The key idea is that the plain feel rule only applies after a lawful frisk. The first requirement is that the pat-down itself must be lawful—the stop must be based on reasonable suspicion, and the frisk must be limited to feeling for weapons. If the pat-down isn’t lawfully conducted, the plain feel exception cannot justify seizing anything found. Once you’re lawfully patting down, you may seize an object if its contour or mass makes its identity as contraband immediately apparent through touch, and it isn’t a weapon. The other statements mix in elements that don’t fit that sequence: you don’t rely on probable cause to justify the initial pat-down, you can’t reach in purely on probable cause in this context, and contraband doesn’t have to be visible to the naked eye—the critical factor is that it is immediately apparent as contraband by touch.