1.2 - B. Showups And Accidental Confrontations

• Jurisdiction: New York

B. Showups and Accidental Confrontations

The right to counsel is not free-floating. No right to counsel exists at a one-on-one identification procedure where a suspect is apprehended in the area in which the crime occurred and is brought immediately to the scene of the crime soon after the commission of the crime. Among the justifications for allowing such an identification procedure are that the suspect’s detention is of brief duration and the brevity of the procedure will enable police to resume their search for the actual perpetrator who may still be in the area. Prompt “on-the-spot” or “emergency-necessity” suspect “showups” are desirable.⁵ It is not surprising that no right to counsel exists at showups. Introducing such a right would delay the proceedings unless a lawyer is to ride in every patrol car.⁶ No right to counsel exists...