Opinion ID: 198347
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Seizure of Address Books

Text: 51 Finally, Owens asserts that even if the police officers had probable cause to search the car, they wrongly seized address books and notebooks, which were outside the scope of the plain view doctrine because their incriminating nature was not immediately apparent. 52 Owens's arguments are misplaced: officers who have probable cause to search a car for contraband are not limited in the scope of their search by the plain view doctrine. See United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 800, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982). Rather, [i]f probable cause justifies the search of a lawfully stopped vehicle, it justifies the search of every part of the vehicle and its contents that may conceal the object of the search. Id. at 825, 102 S.Ct. 2157. 53 Here, the officers had probable cause to believe that the automobile contained drugs and evidence of drug trafficking. The address books and notebooks were concealed in a secret compartment, together with a large amount of cash, two guns, and ostensibly a residue of drugs. Under these circumstances, the police had probable cause to believe that the address books and notebooks were evidence of drug trafficking and thus properly seized them.