State v. Garvin

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court held that a police officer exceeded the permissible scope of a Terry frisk when he continued squeezing a suspect's coin pocket after ascertaining it contained no weapon, discovering a small baggie of methamphetamine only through that manipulation. Because the contraband's identity was not immediately apparent by touch, the plain touch doctrine did not validate the search, and the methamphetamine was the fruit of an unlawful search that had to be suppressed. The court reversed the Court of Appeals and dismissed the possession conviction.