Search and Seizure – Consent or Plain view

The Fourth Amendment was established to protect individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures, yet there are exceptions.

In Michigan, understanding the concepts of search and seizure, particularly regarding consent and plain view, is crucial for both law enforcement and citizens.

The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures, but there are specific circumstances under which law enforcement can legally conduct a search without a warrant.

Search and Seizure Basics

Search and seizure refers to the process by which police officers can investigate a person’s property or belongings to find evidence of a crime.

Under the Fourth Amendment, any search must typically be supported by probable cause and conducted with a warrant.

However, two significant exceptions to this rule are consent searches and plain view seizures.

Consent Searches

Consent occurs when an individual voluntarily agrees to allow law enforcement officers to conduct a search. It is essential that this consent is given freely without coercion or intimidation.

In Michigan, if someone consents to a search of their home or vehicle, anything discovered during that search can be used as evidence in court.

This means if you invite police into your home and they find illegal substances or weapons during their investigation, that evidence can lead to criminal charges against you.

You might as well invite the devil in.

Plain View Doctrine

On the other hand, the plain view doctrine allows officers to seize evidence without a warrant if it is clearly visible while they are in a lawful position.

For example, if police are conducting an investigation outside your house for unrelated reasons (such as responding to noise complaints) and they see illegal items through an open window or door, they can legally seize those items without needing your permission.

The key difference here lies in how the police come across the evidence:

Consent requires permission from the individual being searched while plain view relies on what officers observe from their legal vantage point.

So keep your shades closed and your doors locked. You do not have to answer the door when the police or anybody come knocking.

Understanding these concepts not only empowers individuals regarding their rights but also highlights how crucial it is for law enforcement agencies to operate within legal boundaries when conducting searches. 

Knowing your rights when it comes to search and seizure—especially concerning consent versus plain view—can make all the difference in protecting yourself legally in Michigan.

For more details about the laws follow these links

• [MCL 780.653]
• [MCL 750.552]
• [MCL 780.651]
• [MCL 750.239]

Case Example: Search and Seizure – Consent – Plain view

Defendant moved to suppress coffee filters seized from a detached garage suspected of being the site of a methamphetamine manufacturing operation, that motion should have been allowed because the officers lacked consent to search and did not lawfully seize the coffee filters.

“In 2015, police officers arrested defendant, Michael Brian McJunkin, after responding to reported suspicious activity at a house in Battle Creek. When the police arrived, they noticed the smell of ammonia permeating from a detached garage and suspected methamphetamine (meth) manufacturing. The officers later discovered an active ‘one-pot’ meth laboratory and coffee filters containing ground up pseudoephedrine, a primary component in meth manufacturing. … Because we hold that the officers lacked consent to search and did not lawfully seize the coffee filters, we reverse.

“The parties agree that the officers did not have a warrant to search Wightman’s garage or the Explorer. McJunkin challenges the trial court’s conclusion that the search and seizure was legally justified under the consent and plain-view exceptions to the warrant requirement.

“We hold that the trial court clearly erred by ruling that Wightman freely and unequivocally consented to the search of his garage because the ruling was based on factual findings that were not supported by the evidence.

“Based on these errors, we conclude that the totality of the circumstances did not support a finding that the officers had consent to search the garage. As discussed, to establish the consent exception to the warrant requirement, evidence must show that the officers received consent that ‘is unequivocal, specific, and freely and intelligently given.’ … The evidentiary hearing disclosed no consent to search the garage that meets any of those criteria and, therefore, we reverse the trial court’s decision.

“For these reasons, the trial court erred by ruling that the consent and plain-view exceptions to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirements applied to the officers’ seizure of evidence from McJunkin’s vehicle.”

Read the court opinion (PDF).

Read the dissent (PDF).

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