Eyewitness Identification

• Author: Deja Vishny
• Pages: 587-628

13-1

CHAPTER 13

Eyewitness Identification

I. INTRODUCTION

Eyewitness testimony is some of the most dramatic and persuasive evidence that enters into a courtroom. The victim of,

or witness to, what is often a serious and violent crime, such as a rape, armed-robbery or a shooting, answers the prosecutor’s

question, “ Can you point out the man who did this to you?” The jury is all ears as the witness tells them that the person who

committed the horrible act is your client, seated next to you at counsel table. The witness states she is 100% positive this is

the perpetrator and she’ll never forget that face. The power of the testimony cannot be underestimated; it is the emotionally

moving piece de resistance of the government’s case, which often moves jurors inexorably to reach a guilty verdict.

As powerful as this testimony is, it is frequently erroneous. The National Registry of Exonerations1 listed 2,072



factor. In sexual assaults, the number climbs much higher; 70% of all wrongful convictions in non-child sex assault





   

existed, Edwin Borchard, a Yale law professor, noted in his 1932 book, Convicting the Innocent: Sixty-Five Actual

Errors of Criminal Justice   

leading cause of false convictions.



   

    





-





   





many courts accept the research that, as stated in State v. DuBose-





prevent miscarriages of justice from continuing to occur.

II. GOVERNING PRINCIPLES



 



•     



1   -









§13:02  13-2

the suspect is clearly in police custody. No attempts are made to compare the known suspect with others or

to create ideal viewing conditions.

•     





•    

  

or not he sees the perpetrator in the photo array. The traditional method, still followed by many departments,

    

  









-

ments present the photographs sequentially instead of simultaneously; the photos are presented one at a time

and the viewer is asked whether the person they see in each photo is the perpetrator.

•  



  



In addition to the above police investigation techniques, prosecutors may request that witnesses make in-court

 

can he point out where the perpetrator is sitting and what he is wearing. This sometimes occurs when there has been



 

   -

 Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness



2



 

 

-



 not because

they resemble the known suspect.

    

in the array or lineup and the investigation will continue regardless of the result of the viewing.

    



 

In addition to these recommendations, many researchers recommend that photo arrays and lineups be presented to

witnesses sequentially instead of simultaneously. The purpose of sequential presentation is to eliminate the witness from

comparing one person or photo in an array to the others and then selecting the individual that most closely resembles

the perpetrator. A further advantage is that the witness will not know how many choices are being presented to them

  

 

other words, in sequential presentations of lineups where a witness actually selects someone from a lineup, the ratio of





2 

13-3  §13:05

 

In addition to the articles cited in the Introduction to this chapter, other helpful readings are:

 -





 

 



 



• http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/sjc/docs/eyewitness-evidence-report-2013.pdf

 

 

   

 United States v. Wade Gilbert v. California

Stovall v. Denno 

post-charging lineup (Wade and Gilbert  



 Stovall, the Court held that a defendant has

    







§13:05 Manson v. Braithwaite

 Manson v. Braithwaite test, Manson, a police

    

   

admitted in court because it was reliable.

The Manson decision is often quoted for its famous statement that, “reliability is the linchpin of admissibility.”

IdManson suggests that the court would consider a lack of reliability of an eyewitness’



The Manson Court accepted the test it set forth in Neil v. Biggers, 



• The opportunity of the witness to observe the criminal at the time of the crime;

• The witness’ degree of attention;

• The accuracy of the witness’s prior description;

• The witness’ level of certainty; and

 

Manson, many courts created a two-step procedure for determining the admissibility of eyewitness identi-

See, e.g., Powell v. State 



If the court deems the procedures used were unduly suggestive, the hearing moves to a second phase. In this phase the

burden of proof shifts to the prosecutor who is required to show that, notwithstanding the undue suggestiveness, the



 Manson test most recently in Perry v. New Hampshire

  

