The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Miller, 769 F.2d 554 (9th Cir. 1985):
It is well established that the police may under some circumstances seize evidence in plain view without a warrant. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 465, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2037, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971) (plurality opinion); United States v. Chesher, 678 F.2d 1353, 1356 (9th Cir.1982). Plain view seizure is permitted when three requirements are met. First, the officer must have a prior justification for the intrusion that allowed him to view plainly the evidence. Coolidge, 403 U.S. at 466, 91 S.Ct. at 2038. Second, the discovery of the evidence must be inadvertent. Id. at 469, 91 S.Ct. at 2040. Third, it must be "immediately apparent to the police that they have [incriminating] evidence before them." Id. at 466, 91 S.Ct. at 2038; see also Chesher, 678 F.2d at 1356; United States v. Wright, 667 F.2d 793, 796 (9th Cir.1982).
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