The People of the State of New York, Respondent v. Robert Diaz, Also Known as Robert Holmes, Appellant

Summary

The Court held that a warrantless search of a suspect's pocket based on tactile feeling during a Terry frisk is not justified by any "plain touch" exception and therefore the seized drugs must be suppressed, reversing the Appellate Division and dismissing the indictment. The majority rejected the People’s proposed extension of the plain‑view doctrine to concealed items. A dissent argued that the search was valid as incident to arrest.