Immediately Apparent Requirement Law and Legal Definition
Immediately apparent requirement is a legal principle generally applied in criminal procedure. Under this principle, a police officer must have a is satisfied if an ordinary police officer has probable cause to associate an object with a specific criminal activity. The purpose of the immediately apparent requirement is to prevent general, exploratory rummaging in a person's belongings.
The immediately apparent requirement is met if, at the time of the seizure, the officer has probable cause to believe that the object seized is incriminating evidence. In determining the existence of probable cause, courts are not bound by rigid mathematical calculations. Rather, courts must approach the issue with a concern for the factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent persons act. Under, immediately apparent requirement, the expertise and experience of the law enforcement officer are relevant to the probable cause determination. [State v. Murray, 134 N.H. 613 (N.H. 1991)].
