Assignment:
Eyewitness identification (which includes identification by the victim of the crime) is frequently the most important (and sometimes the only) evidence in criminal cases. An in court identification of the defendant by the victim or another eyewitness is oftentimes the most powerful and dramatic part of a criminal trial. Not surprisingly, juries give tremendous weight to eyewitness testimony. Consequently, defendants positively identified as the culprit by a credible eyewitness are convicted in an overwhelming majority of cases where such testimony is presented. Unfortunately, numerous studies have consistently concluded that eyewitness identification evidence is extremely unreliable.
In reality, most people are very bad at remembering exactly what strangers really look like, especially during brief, highly stressful, and/or traumatic situations such as criminal encounters. The problem is particularly acute in the context of cross racial identification, i.e., when the defendant and the witness are of different races. There are many reasons for this, including the inherent suggestiveness of certain identification procedures employed by law enforcement, particularly the "show up."
The video for this discussion board presents a tragic example of well intentioned, but erroneous, eye witness identification. Sadly, the case is by no means an isolated incident. In fact, a study of wrongful convictions subsequently overturned as a result of conclusively exculpatory DNA evidence concluded that erroneous eyewitness identification evidence was presented in 79 percent of those cases. Read ahead to pages 269 to 285, and discuss the reliability of eyewitness identification, the legal test (and factors) that govern the admissibility of eyewitness identification (see the Neil v. Biggers case included in the materials for this discussion board), and any measures that could be adopted to increase the reliability of eyewitness identification.
Neil v. Biggers (Please note that scientific studies have concluded that the factors considered important by the Supreme Court in this case have been determined to be of questionable value in enhancing the accuracy of eyewitness identification).
Eyewitness Testimony Part 1
Eyewitness Testimony Part 2
Discussion Board Question
Discuss the reliability of eyewitness identification, the legal test (and factors) that govern the admissibility of eyewitness identification (see the Neil v. Biggers case included in the materials for this discussion board), and any measures that could be adopted to increase the reliability of eyewitness identification.