Due process implications related to identification - Next Generation Bar Exam
- Which factors determine the reliability of an identification made after a suggestive procedure?
- The witness's opportunity to view, degree of attention, accuracy of description, level of certainty, and time elapsed. These factors come from Neil v. Biggers and Manson v. Brathwaite.
- Under Perry v. New Hampshire, when does the due process check on identification evidence apply?
- Only when the police arranged the suggestive circumstances. Suggestiveness arising without police involvement is tested through cross-examination and jury instructions.
- What is the remedy for a post-charge lineup conducted without counsel?
- Exclusion of the out-of-court identification, with any in-court identification allowed only if it has an independent source. This remedy comes from United States v. Wade and Gilbert v. California.
- What happens to an identification that followed a suggestive procedure but is nonetheless reliable?
- It is admissible, and its weight is for the jury. Defense counsel may expose the suggestiveness through cross-examination.
- What due process test governs the admissibility of an eyewitness identification?
- Whether an unnecessarily suggestive procedure created a substantial likelihood of misidentification. Reliability is the linchpin of the analysis.
- Under United States v. Ash, what right to counsel exists at a photographic identification?
- There is no right to counsel at a photo array, even after formal charges. The defendant is not present at a photo array, so it is not a trial-like confrontation.
- What must the prosecution show to admit an in-court identification after a tainted pretrial identification?
- By clear and convincing evidence, that the in-court identification has an independent source. The independent source is usually the witness's original observation of the crime.
- When does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel apply at a lineup?
- At lineups conducted after formal adversary judicial proceedings have begun. Kirby v. Illinois held there is no right to counsel at pre-charge lineups.
- Police needlessly show a robbery victim one photo of the suspect. She saw the robber for two minutes in good light and described him accurately. What is the likely ruling?
- The identification is admissible because it is reliable despite the suggestive procedure. Under Manson v. Brathwaite, strong reliability factors outweigh the suggestiveness.
- How are one-person showups treated under due process?
- They are inherently suggestive but often permitted when conducted promptly near the scene. Prompt showups can confirm or dispel suspicion quickly.