Near a house police considered to be a place of cocaine traffic, officers
spotted a man walking toward them. When eye contact was made the man
turned and walked away down an alley. the police pursued and stopped and searched the
suspect. During the pat down search to be sure the accused had no weapons,
an officer felt a lump in the man's jacket pocket. He removed it and discovered it was a
piece of crack cocaine. The man was charged with possession of a
controlled substance. At trial court the accused move to suppress the cocaine but the motion was
denied. The court said that Terry v. Ohio (1968) held that police had the
right to stop a someone suspected of being engaged in criminal activity and to search
the suspect for a weapon and that the officer's seizure took place after
the officer formed the opinion that the lump was cocaine by feeling. The
accused was found guilty. On appeal, the Minnesota Court of Appeals
reversed. They (1) concluded that the seizure was unconstitutionally under Terry v. Ohio and (2) declined
to adopt a "plain feel" exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant
requirement. On further appeal, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed, expressing the view
that: (1) the "plain view" exception to the warrant requirement did not
extend to the sense of touch and, further, (2) that the officer did not immediately
recognize the substance by touch but had engaged in squeezing, sliding and
otherwise manipulating the contents of the pocket.