Eyewitness Identification Reform Blog

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14668419043937291262011-06-29T03:47:14.804-05:00Eyewitness Identification Reform BlogBen Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.comBlogger941100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-40940547728588628652008-01-15T11:27:00.000-05:002008-01-15T11:37:00.300-05:00We've Moved

The Eyewitness ID Blog has moved over to Wordpress. Check us out at the new location.

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-76445532088267826692008-01-03T09:47:00.000-05:002008-01-03T14:00:30.134-05:00Another Dallas Man to be Exonerated after 27 Years in Prison

As we've mentioned before, Dallas County leads the country in wrongful convictions. Most of those wrongful convictions resulted from faulty police lineup procedures. Yesterday, the number of wrongfully convicted individuals to be freed as a result of DNA testing in Dallas County grew to 15, as news broke that DNA proved that Charles Allen Chatman could not have committed the rape for which he

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-37123865536450821542007-12-13T10:34:00.000-05:002007-12-15T14:30:31.713-05:00Another Georgia Man Exonerated, Will Appear before Eyewitness Reform Committee Two Days after Release

Another Georgia man was exonerated by DNA evidence yesterday, after serving nearly 30 years in a state prison for a rape he did not commit. Like the six other men exonerated in Georgia since the Innocence Project started digging through old cases, John Jerome White was convicted on the basis of mistaken eyewitness testimony.Tomorrow, two days after his release from his decades-long prison term,

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-84793892960767408652007-11-28T11:14:00.000-05:002007-11-28T13:58:49.288-05:00Judge Precludes Questioning on Cross-Race IDs, Witness Gets 2 of 3 IDs Wrong, Man Still Goes to Jail

Donald Glenn Flack, a black man, was accused of assaulting a white woman at a mall in Knoxville, but when the victim attempted to identify her attacker from a photo in court, she picked another man -- even with Mr. Flack sitting directly across from her at the defense table. In the initial police lineup a month after the assault, she also picked someone other than Mr. Flack. The only time she

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-21087628630381629802007-11-27T10:44:00.000-05:002007-11-27T17:40:47.065-05:00The Great Engine of Truth Not So Great for Eyewitness Evidence

I recently received a copy of a law review article on the effectiveness of cross-examination for getting at the truth of eyewitness evidence. Prof. Jules Epstein explores in depth the efficacy of the "great engine of truth" as applied to eyewitness testimony, and reports that it falls far short. (Cite: Epstein, Jules, The Great Engine That Couldn't: Science, Mistaken Identifications, and the

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-590021712381084162007-11-02T10:02:00.000-05:002007-11-07T09:44:19.829-05:00Eyewitness Reforms Meet "Resistance from the Very People Who Should Care Most about Justice for All"

Professor Katherine Ramsland of DeSales University has a new commentary in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the widespread resistance among law enforcement officers to policy changes designed to make law enforcement more accurate and effective. At the top of that list is a set of proposed measures known to make identification procedures more accurate, and less likely to pollute witness memory with

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-91859613205006103832007-10-29T09:07:00.000-05:002007-10-29T10:17:08.703-05:00Houston City Council "Should Be Weary of Making Apologies to Innocent People"

According to former Texas appellate judge Michol O'Connor, the time has passed to wonder about what can be done to address Houston's notorious wrongful conviction problem, just as the time has passed to wait for the Houston Police Department to fix the problems on their own. He describes status quo police lineup procedures as "a suspect process" in dire need of reform. Yet despite clear

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-50707930775605785452007-10-15T13:20:00.000-05:002007-10-15T17:33:46.657-05:00Schwarzenegger Terminates Legislative Reform Effort in California

Despite our earlier hope, Governor Schwarzenegger again vetoed a bill aimed at reducing wrongful convictions. The bill would have provided an important first step toward making the collection of eyewitness evidence more reliable in California, by simply requiring the Attorney General to devise a set of best practices, in light of substantial research showing that certain procedures make false

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-77698504378498973082007-10-12T11:40:00.000-05:002007-10-12T12:42:26.973-05:00NIJ Acknowledges "Marred" Results of Illinois Pilot Project

The NIJ Journal put out an article this week called "Police Lineups: Making Eyewitness Identification More Reliable," acknowledging the unreliability of eyewitness memory and the role the police procedures play in making it more or less reliable. The article gives some detail on the simultaneous vs. sequential debate, including Nancy Steblay's continuing great work testing the efficacy of

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-33001755334905315112007-10-02T08:58:00.000-05:002007-10-02T09:48:40.125-05:00Georgia Cops Resist Reform, Defend Flawed Status Quo

In the second day of hearings by the Georgia House committee organized to consider a new law mandating that police adhere to well-established best practices when conducting eyewitness lineup procedures, law enforcement officials were out in full force in opposition.Given the total lack of empirical support for that position, cops are left to rely on baseless claims in defense of the status quo:

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-28620285610082770962007-10-01T10:39:00.000-05:002007-10-05T09:08:13.020-05:00Conviction Overturned for Failure to "Seriously Consider" Expert Testimony on Eyewitness Factors

The Illinois Court of Appeals overturned a conviction Friday in People v. Allen (PDF) (update: now on Westlaw at 2007 WL 2821966), for the trial court's "failure to conduct a meaningful inquiry" into proposed expert testimony on eyewitness factors by Dr. Steven Penrod.Subjects of proffered testimony were to include the effects of stress, weapon focus, cross-race, lack of correlation between

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-20464780941459181472007-09-26T09:04:00.000-05:002007-10-03T12:42:44.922-05:00Dallas, TX: Wrongful Conviction Leader Come Poster Child for Eyewitness Reform, or Illinois All Over Again?

Dallas County, notorious for its status as the county with the worst wrongful conviction record in the country, is now, at least ostensibly, making efforts to remedy this systemic problem. Eleven of the 13 wrongful convictions uncovered by the Innocence Project in Dallas County in the last six years resulted from faulty eyewitness evidence collected through flawed police procedures.

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-83555167231090621962007-09-17T12:42:00.000-05:002007-09-17T13:17:50.911-05:00Most Georgia Cops Have No Eyewitness Guidelines

Despite the fact that the Innocence Project has exonerated six men in Georgia who were wrongfully convicted as a result of faulty eyewitness evidence, the majority of Georgia law enforcement agencies still lack even basic written guidelines for the collection of eyewitness evidence. A recent report found that 83% of the 296 Georgia law enforcement agencies surveyed have no specific guidelines to

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-71885361662210890562007-09-10T09:51:00.000-05:002007-09-10T12:18:14.174-05:00Federal Court Finds Lawyer Ineffective For Failure to Call Expert on Effects of Blood Loss and Sedation on Witness's Memory

Just came across an interesting recent decision from the 2nd Circuit, in connection with a habeas claim from an old New York case.Brentonol Moriah was walking along a Brooklyn street at 2:30a.m. one summer night in 1996, when he was held up with a full-length shotgun. Mr. Moriah turned over the contents of his pockets, at which point apparently some headlights flashed, and his assailant fired

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-50890952051199837892007-09-06T08:20:00.000-05:002007-09-06T14:43:57.135-05:00New Zealand Government Funds Novel Eyewitness Research

The New Zealand Herald is reporting today that a New Zealand researcher will receive a government-funded grant in the amount of $170,000 to study factors affecting the reliability of eyewitness memory, in support of an effort to reduce wrongful convictions in the country. Dr. Rachel Zajac of the University of Otago will use some of the money to test a lineup modification on adults that was

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-43550629140130173602007-08-29T08:52:00.000-05:002007-08-29T10:01:24.131-05:00Innocent? Prove it.

Last I checked, the U.S. Constitution mandates that criminal defendants are presumed innocent, and guilt must be proven by the state. It may not say it in the plain text, but people who read the Constitution for a living swear it's floating around somewhere in the "penumbra" of the 5th, 6th, and 14th Amendments. In any case, the Supreme Court agrees. In fact, the presumption of innocence is "

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-21639123005821392022007-08-28T13:33:00.000-05:002007-08-29T08:50:40.946-05:00"They may as well have made him wear a target on his chest or a sign over his head saying 'pick me,'" says US federal court

I just came across an interesting decision issued last month from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in which the court considered (and rejected) eyewitness evidence in support of an extradition request by the Republic of Poland. In re Mazur, Slip Copy, 2007 WL 2122401 (N.D.Ill. 2007).The evidence presented in support of the government's probable cause showing

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-43106937705138978172007-08-23T09:47:00.000-05:002007-08-24T12:26:28.926-05:00When the DOJ Says It, Jurors Listen

A study was published a couple of years ago that tested juror reactions to information suggesting that police had failed to follow best practices in conducting eyewitness lineup procedures. (I haven't found the text online, but here's the cite: J.M. Lampinen et al., The reactions of mock jurors to the Department of Justice Guidelines for the collection and preservation of eyewitness evidence, 27

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-12813135136361311532007-08-10T15:09:00.000-05:002007-08-10T16:39:37.900-05:00The Problem with Telfaire

The so-called "Telfaire instruction" (from U.S. v. Telfaire, 469 F.2d 552 (D.C. Cir. 1972)) is the most commonly used jury instruction on eyewitness ID in U.S. courts, aimed at alerting jurors to the potential pitfalls of eyewitness evidence. Unfortunately, it is based directly on the flawed and outdated criteria for assessing the reliability of eyewitness evidence set forth in Neil v. Biggers

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-48853994397686689262007-08-06T08:45:00.000-05:002007-08-06T08:56:16.256-05:00GA Supreme Court Will Hear Troy Davis' Case; Original Jurors Urge New Trial

On Friday, the Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of Troy Davis, including new evidence of police coercion that undermines the eyewitness testimony that was the primary basis of his conviction.Now, four jurors from Mr. Davis' original trial have come forward urging clemency and a new trial, in light of this new evidence that has come to public attention. Knowing what she knows now,

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-73717545552853634652007-07-30T12:22:00.000-05:002007-07-30T13:13:38.444-05:00Mecklenburg and The Big Picture

I agree with Ben. It just isn't right that, faced with a fight between prosecutors and scientists over a purely scientific issue, a respected newspaper looks at the dispute and basically calls it a draw. But I want to make sure we don't get too discouraged over this development. It seems to me that this story is just a fairly extreme example of the media's need to find two conflicting viewpoints,

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-90479287910080680662007-07-30T08:55:00.000-05:002007-07-30T11:32:09.762-05:00Lipstick on a Pig, Part Deux: Scientists vs. Prosecutors

We reported recently that the so-called "Illinois Report" on lineup procedures was found to be unscientific, unreliable, and generally adds no value to the dialogue on the most accurate and reliable police lineup procedures. Today, the Chicago Tribune is running a story, in the wake of the definitive debunking (PDF) of that police-sponsored report from Chicago, suggesting that the best lineup

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-88838823473702838422007-07-25T08:34:00.000-05:002007-07-25T09:43:14.886-05:00New Lineup Rules Pass in NC

With the passage of the Eyewitness Identification Reform Act earlier this week, police across North Carolina are now required to adhere to certain best practices with respect to lineup procedures, which have been shown to reduce the likelihood that innocent people will be identified from a lineup.The reform measures include "blind" administration of lineups, where someone not connected to the

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-22566386545913728602007-07-23T09:45:00.000-05:002007-07-23T10:08:53.858-05:00Two New Studies Conclude: Faulty IDs Caused "Thousands" Of Wrongful Convictions

The New York Times reported this weekend that two new studies have looked closely at the wrongful conviction epidemic, and have concluded that there are literally thousands of people serving sentences in prison for crimes they did not commit.The first, "Judging Innocence", is soon-to-be-published in the Columbia Law Review, conducted by University of Virginia Professor Brandon Garrett. Professor

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-16465138424942837832007-07-22T12:57:00.000-05:002007-07-22T20:07:17.364-05:00Troy Davis Case Spotlights Eyewitness Fallibility, Drives Georgia Reform Effort

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a story today on the fallibility of eyewitness testimony, in connection with the ongoing Troy Davis case. The article highlights the systemic problem of wrongful convictions resulting from faulty eyewitness testimony, including all six DNA exonerations in Georgia over the last eight years, all of which resulted from inaccurate eyewitness evidence.To explore

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-53383200262753732872007-07-20T13:26:00.000-05:002007-07-20T13:51:18.705-05:00In the Pope's Own Words

We managed to obtain a copy of the Pope's letter (PDF) to Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, calling for the commutation of Troy Davis' death sentence, in light of "strong claims of innocence," including now-recanted eyewitness testimony that appears to have resulted from police coercion.More from the letter:This particular case is all the more disturbing inasmuch as the public record indicates that

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-24181707750591231492007-07-20T12:44:00.000-05:002007-07-20T13:01:33.373-05:00Pope's Letter Questions ID Evidence

Following up on Ben's post, it appears that the Pope's letter didn't just ask for Mr. Davis' life to be spared but also observed, as the Atlanta Journal Constitution pointed out only a few moments ago in its most recent update to the story, that "Davis' pending execution is "disturbing" given that many witnesses have come forward to say that their testimony implicating Davis was false, and that

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-7062475242038238992007-07-20T11:54:00.000-05:002007-07-20T14:01:38.222-05:00The POPE Calls on Georgia to Spare Troy Davis

The Pope himself has formally called on the state of Georgia to spare Troy Davis from his death sentence.The Vatican delivered a letter to Governor Sonny Perdue on Monday, the same day Mr. Davis's stay was granted."In the name of Pope Benedict XVI, I am respectfully asking you to commute Troy's sentence to life in prison without parole," wrote Monsignor Martin Krebs, the office's charge

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-9073745314850726382007-07-16T19:29:00.000-05:002007-07-18T15:26:20.525-05:00Troy Davis Granted 90-Day Stay

Great news: Troy Davis was just granted a 90-day stay of his death sentence, averting his execution scheduled for tomorrow night. The Pardon and Parole Board reached their decision to stay the execution after less than an hour of deliberation. Hopefully a more sensible solution will be reached over the next months and Mr. Davis can, for the first time, exercise his right to a fair trial.More

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-5016251174032319362007-07-16T16:26:00.000-05:002007-07-16T16:36:57.855-05:00Will Georgia kill an innocent man tomorrow night?

More press coverage of the Troy Davis, the day before his scheduled execution.Time Magazine: Will Georgia kill an innocent man?And the Atlanta Journal Constitution, with a transcript of Congressman John Lewis's testimony at the Parole and Pardon Board hearing this morning, which starts off:Good morning, Chairperson Hunt and members of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.It is a privilege to

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-57533911279073978932007-07-15T15:00:00.000-05:002007-07-15T15:28:04.304-05:00Update and Press Coverage of Troy Davis Case

AP has picked up the story of Troy Davis, the Georgia man on death row for a murder he maintains he did not commit. His lawyers filed a motion last week seeking a new trial, based on sworn affidavits by witnesses from the 1991 trial who now say they lied due to police coercion when they testified against Mr. Davis. The motion was denied, and defense lawyer Jason Ewart planned to appeal that

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-81637192594147369222007-07-12T15:05:00.000-05:002007-07-12T15:11:38.963-05:00New Wikipedia Article on Eyewitness ID

A new article on eyewitness ID recently appeared on Wikipedia. Check it out.

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-63026890027383779042007-07-11T11:33:00.000-05:002007-07-11T12:15:05.769-05:00Innocence on Georgia Death Row?

Troy Anthony Davis is currently on death row in Georgia, for a 1991 murder conviction based exclusively on eyewitness testimony. There is no physical evidence connecting Mr. Davis to the crime. Since the trial, all but two of the government's non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony incriminating Mr. Davis, many citing police coercion in sworn affidavits, (PDF) including threats of

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-29190619048853676552007-07-10T11:42:00.000-05:002007-07-10T16:11:21.196-05:00NO WAY TO PUT LIPSTICK ON THIS PIG: PANEL OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS FINDS THAT HIGHLY-PUBLICIZED CHICAGO POLICE STUDY OF ID PROCEDURES IS JUNK SCIENCE

Approximately a year ago, a highly-publicized study out of Illinois claimed to have raised questions about some of the procedural reforms being adopted around the country to improve the handling of eyewitness evidence. The study, taking the form of a pilot project spearheaded by Chicago police across three counties, purported to reveal that current identification procedures protected against

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-65302592581158662052007-07-04T09:32:00.000-05:002007-07-04T10:09:23.364-05:00A Bad ID, and Bad Law, in Louisiana

In a recent Louisiana bench trial, eyewitness ID expert Robert Shomer testified in front of a judge in the 21st Judicial District on a collection of factors tending to undermine the reliability of eyewitness evidence. The local press reports:Had the robbery case been tried before a jury, rather than a judge alone, the testimony of the specialist in eyewitness identification would not have been

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-85796054036867198572007-06-27T16:53:00.000-05:002007-06-27T17:27:25.777-05:00Three California Wrongful Conviction Bills Advance

The California Assembly Public Safety Committee cleared three bills yesterday targeted at reducing wrongful convictions, which we reported on earlier in the process. One is aimed at curbing false confessions by way of mandatory recording of confessions, the second requires corroborating evidence for jailhouse snitches, and the last is an eyewitness ID bill that would required the California

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-60031060799281749682007-06-26T15:38:00.000-05:002007-06-27T12:50:22.614-05:00Federal Court Gets ID Science Terribly Wrong, Denies Expert Testimony

In one of the worst eyewitness ID decisions I've read, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied expert testimony in US v. White earlier this month, and in the process revealed a substantially flawed comprehension of eyewitness research. US v. White, Slip Copy, 2007 WL 1768718 (E.D.Va. June 15, 2007).The case involves a police officer as a witness, and despite a wealth of

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-38087964908593887142007-06-21T10:13:00.000-05:002007-06-21T13:32:27.183-05:00Cross-Species Lineups and "Forensic Facial ID Experts"

Australia's high court yesterday denied the final appeal of a man charged with murder and attempted kidnapping in the Australian outback, where one piece of government evidence was the identification of the accused's dog from a lineup procedure that the defense alleges was unduly suggestive. Given the serious problems with mere cross-racial IDs, it's tough to imagine that even a carefully

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-82332253522721265152007-06-15T21:15:00.000-05:002007-06-15T21:46:39.703-05:00How ID Reform Bills Became Laws This Year

A Public Defender blog has another great post up tonight -- this one is about how a Connecticut EyeID reform bill recently died in Committee. The post also asks us for our thoughts on the Bill, so here they are.The Connecticut Bill looks great. On a quick read, all of the provisions look to be supported by solid science. Many of those same procedures are already being used by police departments

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-88707899113493316982007-06-15T08:32:00.000-05:002007-06-15T08:44:42.227-05:00New EyeID Resource at UT

The University of Texas law school just launched the Actual Innocence Awareness Database, with a section devoted to "resources which address wrongful convictions resulting primarily from inaccurate, mistaken or perjured eyewitness identification." Looks like it has potential to be a great resource.

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-88663040862810860212007-06-14T10:32:00.000-05:002007-06-15T08:47:45.780-05:00The Most "Niche Blog" Yet Named

The results are in, and the people have spoken. Thanks to Jamie Spencer over at Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer, we have earned the distinct honor of being named The Most "Niche Blog" Yet Named.

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-19003007325959397332007-06-14T08:55:00.000-05:002007-06-14T10:26:08.766-05:00Questions for Cops

The Niemen Foundation for Journalism at Harvard has a new entry up on its press watchdog blog, setting out a list of questions that the press should be asking local law enforcement and prosecutor organizations relating to eyewitness procedures.The list comes courtesy of eyewitness ID reform institution Gary Wells:Q. Does your agency have written policies and procedures on live and photo lineups?Q

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-4007637525745038532007-06-12T08:22:00.000-05:002007-06-12T08:50:02.484-05:00(Ex-)Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor Faces Trial for Misconduct

In the words of one of the defense attorneys on the Duke rape case, Nifong "created a conflict between his professional duties and the search for truth, and his personal vested interest in getting elected." "In his zeal to make national headlines and win a hotly contested primary, the DA Nifong intentionally ignored other evidence which was inconsistent with rape at the expense of [Seligmann]

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-51674938499160020432007-06-05T09:17:00.000-05:002007-06-05T10:09:57.477-05:00New Dallas DA Comes in Swinging -- At Bad ID Procedures

As reported over at Grits for Breakfast and at the New York Times, the new Dallas District Attorney -- a career defense attorney until his election to DA in November -- has some new ideas about prosecuting crime. This shouldn't seem novel, but in Craig Watkins' own words, "I lock them up if they're guilty." But against the backdrop of 13 DNA exonerations in the last six years under the old

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-79589746147777104952007-06-04T11:51:00.000-05:002007-06-04T12:56:14.179-05:00"Sometimes I wonder if death ain't better"

Roger Dean Gillispie has been in prison for 16 years for three rapes he swears he didn't commit. He has maintained his innocence from the outset, and the Ohio Innocence Project has been working on his case since 2003. Mr. Gillispie is currently awaiting a decision from the parole board, expected early next week, on whether or not it will reconsider its decision last month to deny him parole.In

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-9436999920407675932007-05-25T09:08:00.000-05:002007-07-13T14:32:23.956-05:00Tennessee High Court Overturns Death Penalty Conviction For Failure to Admit ID Expert

I'm on the road so this is brief and nearly old news by now, but with that out of the way:This great opinion (PDF) came down from the Tennessee Supreme Court this week in State v. Copeland, overturning its long-standing precedent excluding eyewitness testimony as common sense, citing (among other things) a poll (PDF) conducted by the Public Defender Service for DC, showing that jurors tend to

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-35530531805842880482007-05-22T08:42:00.000-05:002007-05-22T15:24:16.220-05:00Cross-Ethnic IDs Get No Instruction in NJ (For Now); Standard ID Instruction Gets an Upgrade

The New Jersey Supreme Court held in State v. Cromedy in 1999 that uncorroborated cross-racial identifications required a jury charge to offset the impairment that has been observed by social scientists when members of one race attempt to identify members of another race.Yesterday, the same court identified a limit on the application of that holding, finding the cross-racial jury charge

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-51475588662886008762007-05-21T16:26:00.000-05:002007-05-21T16:53:01.527-05:00Texas ID Reform Bill Dies in Committee

As reported by Scott Henson at Grits for Breakfast:Despite the rash of exonerations of innocent people serving long sentences in Texas prisons, the 80th Texas Legislature is about to close seven days from now having passed virtually no legislation to address the problem, and indeed possibly having passed several bills that make it more likely that innocent people will be convicted.That's why I

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-17288782458786613162007-05-18T13:19:00.000-05:002007-05-18T16:53:01.118-05:00Face Shapes, First Names, and the Malleability of Memory

This is might be off-topic, but it's Friday afternoon and I thought this was pretty interesting. Some research came out this week from psychologists at Miami University in Ohio, suggesting that people are wired to expect certain correlations to exist between certain names and certain facial characteristics.If you want to test out the theory, check out these photos and take a stab at which face

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-43872479365303604122007-05-14T08:59:00.000-05:002007-05-21T13:37:08.052-05:00Coke Machines, Willie Nelson Lookalikes, and the Failure of Manson v. Brathwaite

The following, from a real court decision:Barnett testified that Mrs. Hayden told him the intruder was short and stocky, approximately 5'4 to 5'6 in height, that he had long hair, and that he was in his middle 20's. At trial, Mrs. Hayden testified that she told Barnett that the intruder was between 5' and 5'4 tall, that he had red hair, and that he had a red bandana tied around his head. Later in

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-69843995682949300242007-05-10T14:48:00.000-05:002007-05-10T15:38:51.689-05:00Failure to Resolve ID Issues = New Trial

Just came across an interesting decision from the great state of New Jersey from a couple weeks back, in which the New Jersey Superior Court overturned a conviction because the trial court failed to resolve factual issues relating to ID procedures. (State v. Greene, Not Reported in A.2d, 2007 WL 1223906 (N.J.Super.A.D. 2007))The case involved an armed robbery of a Domino's Pizza restaurant.

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-27082418561069629832007-05-07T12:26:00.000-05:002007-05-07T13:06:09.093-05:00Lineup Reforms in Real Life

There are a number of law enforcement agencies out there with real lineup reforms in action -- like Hennepin County, Minnesota, and Northampton, Massachusetts (PDF), among others -- and in every case that we're aware of where police departments have enacted these reforms, the police themselves have become advocates for them. The reality is, as they will be the first to tell you, that

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-14215221183351745272007-05-07T12:10:00.000-05:002007-05-07T12:25:30.571-05:00Eyewitness ID Reform on NPR Today

Just got wind that NPR's show "To the Point" will be devoting today's show (live at noon on the west coast) to DNA and wrongful convictions, with a discussion on the reliability of eyewitness evidence and proposed reforms to police procedures to minimize future errors. Might be worth checking out:DNA and Wrongful ConvictionsMON MAY 7, 2007After years in prison for crimes they didn't commit,

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-71689647955024355672007-05-02T13:02:00.000-05:002007-05-02T19:16:42.815-05:00What about Frye? The Admissibility of IDs from Faulty Police Lineups

It is well-settled among social scientists who have studied the mechanisms of eyewitness memory that certain police practices are likely to enhance the reliability of identifications resulting from police lineups, whereas certain faulty practices have been demonstrated to diminish that reliability. Yet under federal due process law (i.e. Manson v. Brathwaite), identifications from egregiously

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-2704039088400287862007-04-30T20:05:00.000-05:002007-04-30T20:22:44.878-05:00WSJ editorial & trial errors

One more thought about the WSJ editorial. Just as troubling as the argument that there is insufficient data that wrongful convictions are a problem is the assertion, slipped into the WSJ piece, that “trial errors” have little or no causal connection to a just or unjust outcome of a criminal trial -- as if jurors’ determinations of guilt can be divorced from how the evidence is presented (or

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389734022113704258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-4959114593726151392007-04-30T10:11:00.000-05:002007-04-30T13:50:10.796-05:00Lineups Going Virtual?

The San Francisco Chronicle has a story on some new adaptations of virtual reality being developed at Stanford, with one possible application being the improvement of police lineups. This is clearly a ways off if it does make its way to the real world, but if nothing else it's interesting to see that the movement for lineup reform has achieved such critical mass that it's on the short list of

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-22018214904212453712007-04-27T14:16:00.000-05:002007-04-28T08:34:46.260-05:00Stages of Denial: The Numbers Are On Our Side Too

As Ben's post shows, many in the criminal justice process remain in the denial stage with respect to wrongful convictions. Before DNA, those same people repeatedly would say, with confidence, that innocent people were NEVER convicted in our criminal justice system. In the pre-DNA era, they disdainfully dismissed works like the Radelet study -- a pre-DNA study that concluded that 23 innocent

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-16751792521147569152007-04-27T08:33:00.000-05:002007-04-27T16:55:12.860-05:00The Innocence Myth?

The Wall Street Journal just published an editorial (of which they were generous enough to provide a free preview) by the Honorable Morris B. Hoffman, a Colorado District Judge, in which Judge Hoffman audaciously labels "innocence" a myth -- in the specific context of the great work of organizations like the Innocence Project, and others working to undo wrongful convictions and reduce their

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-45505984104438636102007-04-25T08:40:00.000-05:002007-04-25T10:30:35.099-05:00Violent Encounters, Cops, and the Frailty of Human Memory

We recently stumbled across a joint DOJ/FBI publication called Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on our Nation's Law Enforcement Officers (Aug. 2006), which purports to "offer insights that may help to improve safety-training techniques." One source of insight happens to be the same social science research on which reform advocates rely to show the fallibility of human memory in

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-67508552465291345382007-04-23T15:11:00.000-05:002007-04-23T15:45:37.652-05:00200th Person Exonerated Today

Earlier today, Jerry Miller became the 200th person exonerated by postconviction DNA testing. Mr. Miller spent 24 years in prison for a Chicago rape he did not commit and, like each of the 200 exonerations, his case is a painful example of injustice in our criminal justice system.Although exonerees like Jerry Miller can do nothing to recover the years of their lives (over 2,500 years combined)

Ezekiel Edwardsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-15275709184493813902007-04-20T13:13:00.000-05:002007-04-21T01:40:52.950-05:00Exonerations Spur Reform Nationwide

Law.com has a nice current snapshot of the nationwide movement to reform eyewitness ID procedures, which continues to gain traction in response to the mounting number of DNA exonerations.One common theme throughout the proposed reform measures is a requirement for blind lineup administrators, or an alternative method that has the same effect of preventing the person conducting the lineup from

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-74349140745973548082007-04-20T08:31:00.000-05:002007-04-20T15:06:00.129-05:00The Power of Suggestion (and a Very Weird Lineup)

The Wisconsin State Journal reports this morning on an old case that's come back into the light for a re-trial, the facts of which read more like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil meets Serpent and the Rainbow than a case in a US criminal court. It's not quite a voodoo priestess making potions in Bonaventure Cemetery in the twilight, but in some key ways, it's not far off.The author makes

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-11443426731093908632007-04-18T08:49:00.000-05:002007-04-18T10:27:20.345-05:00California Panel Pushes for ID Reform (Again)

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting this morning that a panel of justice experts has convened again to pressure the state to adopt a collection of reforms aimed at reducing wrongful convictions. The panel, formally known as the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, includes at least one defense attorney (who is also a law prof), and a former AG.Last year, the same panel

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-51808289692606773652007-04-17T08:59:00.000-05:002007-04-17T09:47:19.317-05:00Fear : Memory :: Oil : Water

In 1988 Jimmy Lee Page was identified as an attacker by a seven year-old boy recovering from 20 stab wounds on a hospital bed. Joe Howard, the young victim, "reacted dramatically" when he saw a photo of Mr. Page in a lineup from his hospital bed, with flowing tears and noticeable fear. Police placed great weight on the boy's immediate, visceral reaction to the image, and pursued criminal

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-73318444082075866512007-04-13T10:08:00.000-05:002007-04-13T11:25:52.758-05:00Five Eyewitnesses Recant IDs, All Citing Police Coercion; No Other Evidence, Yet Still No Reversal

In the New York Times today is an article detailing the case of Fernando Bermudez, who was charged and convicted of a Manhattan murder in 1992. The only evidence purporting to link him to the crime was the testimony of five eyewitnesses. Each of those witnesses recanted their identifications in sworn statements the year after the trial, citing a host of suggestive ID procedures, coupled with

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-31300393271528398712007-04-12T09:22:00.001-05:002007-04-16T13:35:54.587-05:00Faulty ID Procedures Condemned in Dismissal of Duke Rape Case

The dismissal of the Duke rape case is all over the news, but it's particularly interesting that in almost every report, the attorney general is on record blasting the unreliable eyewitness procedures as a primary cause of the unfounded charges against the Duke athletes.As was reported some months ago, the ID procedures in the case involved a photo lineup comprised only of Duke lacrosse players -

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-18725377065249171142007-04-11T11:46:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:36:35.562-05:00Innocence Project to Claim 200th Exoneration

According to an article in the Examiner this morning, the Innocence Project is slated to announce its 200th DNA exoneration later this month. According to Johns Hopkins criminologist (and former Maryland state trooper), the event "should be a huge wake-up call for the entire criminal justice system."Faulty eyewitness IDs are again listed as the predominant cause of wrongful conviction. Suzanne

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-71964151674119272082007-04-10T08:40:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:36:47.475-05:00Lineup Reform in Texas

Add Texas to the growing list of states where police lineup reform has made its way to the legislature. Texas's lineup reform bill, SB 799 (PDF), is scheduled for a public hearing today.According to Texas blogger Scott Henson over at Grits for Breakfast, Dallas County leads the nation in post-conviction DNA exonerations. In a state ripe for reform, this bill would require:The office of the

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-77083755502522603132007-04-09T13:03:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:37:01.761-05:00Stress Effects on Eyewitness Recall

It's a recurring theme in eyewitness testimony: "My adrenaline was racing, so I'll never forget that face." Or, "I was terrified; his face is burned in my mind." As if fear is a veritable steroid for memory. Witness after witness reports the belief that there is a positive correlation between the level of stress of an event and the level of detail at which the witness recalls the identity of

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-45341688037378444692007-04-05T08:40:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:37:12.588-05:00Blinded by Science

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but the adoption of blind procedures in police lineups is one of the most critical reforms being proposed to law enforcement agencies and legislatures as a means of protecting the innocent, and I think warrants a bit more attention. It may seem like common sense to anyone who took Psych 101, but somehow reform advocates still face resistance to one of its most

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-54464406547342746602007-04-04T08:37:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:37:23.566-05:00The Separation of Courts and Science

One of the most basic principles of science is the objectivity of the scientist conducting a given experiment. One of the most critical tools for ensuring that objectivity, particularly in the social sciences where humans and other animals are the subjects of the hypothesis being tested, is the "double-blind" procedure -- which is to say, neither the administrator of the procedure nor its

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-29462174661851718702007-04-02T13:34:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:37:33.454-05:00A "Policy Review" of Eyewitness ID Procedures

The Justice Project just released a Policy Review, in which it advocates for a collection of reform measures relating to the manner in which police conduct lineup procedures.Some of the well-settled best practices recommended in the Policy Review include:The careful documentation of the identification, which decreases possible manipulation of witness certainty. Often, a witness’s initial

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-3439617214758385132007-04-02T09:58:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:37:43.945-05:00Another Bad ID, an Unlikely Exoneree, and the Problem with DNA

Last week another faulty eyewitness identification was exposed, and another wrongfully convicted man was set free, thanks to the continued good work of the Innocence Project. Antonio Beaver spent more than ten years in Missouri prisons, after being convicted for a carjacking he didn't commit.In some ways Mr. Beaver's case is much like other wrongful-conviction cases in which the (eventual)

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-78456712304965453972007-04-02T08:56:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:37:56.117-05:00One, Two, Three: DNA Exoneration Of Anthony J. Capozzi

The exoneration of Anthony Capozzi for a crime in Buffalo is just the latest in a long string of DNA exonerations for convictions based primarily on eyewitness testimony. In Mr. Capozzi's case, three eyewitnesses confidently identified him at trial as the rapist. The quote highlighted by Talk Left is the most telling part of the story:“Maybe one’s wrong, maybe two are wrong, but jurors sit there

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-29443137863319802912007-03-30T15:24:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:13:13.902-05:00West Virginia Leads The Way On ID Reform

In earlier posts, we've discussed the West Virginia Eyewitness Reform bill. That bill is now a law. Musical version here.A few things changed in the legislative process. As Ben noted in his February post, earlier forms of the bill mandated specific procedural reforms. The final version contains a few specific directions; it tells police to provide three important instructions to witnesses before

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-6652732542385979252007-03-30T11:05:00.000-05:002007-03-30T14:39:53.099-05:00Weapon Focus Under Attack?

Perhaps the only puzzling part of the LeGrand opinion (PDF) was the section dealing with weapon focus -- that is, the phenomenon in which the presence of a weapon during the commission of a crime negatively affects the eyewitness's ability to later identify the perpetrator. Despite finding that the trial court should have allowed the defense expert to testify on several areas of eyewitness

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-41561799421181115202007-03-29T12:29:00.000-05:002007-03-29T14:33:41.193-05:00Onward from LeGrand

Decisions like LeGrand (PDF), and the Third Circuit's superb decision last summer in United States v. Brownlee (PDF), 454 F.3d 131 (3d Cir. 2006), suggest that courts are starting to warm up to the idea that the social science research can help limit the role mistaken eyewitness testimony has played in creating wrongful convictions. I think it's likely that these cases will hasten the day when

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-12813275506969157362007-03-27T09:30:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:21:43.141-05:00LeGrand reversed! (NY Murder Conviction Overturned for Denial of ID Expert)

As previously reported, last month the New York Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in People v. LeGrand, a murder case in which the trial judge last year refused to admit expert testimony (PDF) on the reliability of eyewitness identifications, and further held that such evidence is unreliable under the "general acceptance" standard set forth in Frye v. United States.Today, New York's high

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-87553834994000242012007-03-26T11:53:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:32:35.559-05:00Do They All Look Alike?: A Bibliography of Research on the Cross-Racial Phenomenon

A wealth of research over the last 30 years has shown that identifications by witnesses belonging to a different race than the individual being observed are less reliable than same-race identifications. The phenomenon has been termed the "own-race bias," as well as the "cross-racial effect." It is not a function of prejudice, and does not depend on a belief by the witness that members of a

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-19782894686275330782007-03-20T14:11:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:14:34.691-05:00Innocence Week in DC: March 26 - 30, 2007

Next week is "Innocence Week" at American University College of Law, where a series of lectures will provide "An Examination of Wrongful Convictions in America" (PDF). Lecture topics will include Legal Obstacles to Exoneration, where WCL crim profs, including Cynthia Jones and Angela J. Davis, will "take a critical look at the criminal justice process, both pretrial and post‐conviction, and

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-79878399801631037162007-03-20T13:50:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:14:53.743-05:00Upcoming Seminar on Eyewitness ID in Seattle: May 4, 2007

At an upcoming CLE seminar (PDF) in Seattle, experts on the subject of eyewitness identification from the social sciences, law enforcement, and the criminal defense community will gather to discuss the ongoing, broad-based reform effort. Speakers include Gary Wells, who will discuss current research on eyewitness memory and what it tells us about the reliability of certain procedures, Lieutenant

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-70896502332098404082007-03-09T09:34:00.000-05:002007-03-27T15:31:04.662-05:00No Eyewitness ID Expert? Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.

Or at least in California, in this unpublished 2002 decision (PDF) from People v. Jason Kindle, where the state appellate court overturned a conviction on grounds that trial counsel's failure to call an eyewitness ID expert in a case where identity was a pivotal issue was ineffective assistance of counsel.The case involved an office store robbery by a man described as "heavily disguised," where

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-17215519785579606122007-03-04T10:15:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:17:39.126-05:00More from Munsterberg: Accuracy & Choosing Rates, and New Tech

Highlights from the last day and a half include a new meta-analysis of nine studies, charting variables including cross-race, weapon-focus, and the ongoing simultaneous vs. sequential debate, presented by Stephen Ross.Dr. Ross's central suggestion for future research was the crafting of meaningful ways of distinguishing between "ground accuracy" and suspect choosing rates, when comparing the

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-32110450305355716922007-03-02T15:49:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:16:09.051-05:00Lineup Waivers?

More from Munsterberg -- Saul Kassin's plenary talk this afternoon chronicled a collection of DNA exonerations, as well as one suspected false conviction with post-conviction proceedings still in progress, a man named Marty Tankleff. Seventeen years ago, while in his last year of high school, Tankleff awoke in his house to find all the lights on, his mother brutally murdered, and his father

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-36013060175355892382007-03-02T12:08:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:19:06.226-05:00Day 2 from Munsterberg -- Face Recognition, Eye Tracking, and the Suggestibility of Human Memory

Some notes from Day 2 at the "Off the Witness Stand" conference -- particularly interesting was a paper presentation on the use of visual behavior as a mechanism to understand eyewitness decision-making in simultaneous lineups. Witnesses were suited up with eye-tracking equipment, which recorded the direction and duration of eye movements throughout a series of test sessions at which they

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-29412089853725981572007-03-01T14:06:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:20:03.647-05:00Live from Munsterberg

A quick report from Day 1 of "Off the Witness Stand," which is off to a great start. Kicking things off was a panel comprised of Janet Reno, Jim Doyle, Jeremy Travis, and Hon. John Martin.Jim Doyle opened up with his characterization of this conference as a sort of "do-over" of the historic dialogue between Hugo Munsterberg and John Henry Wigmore, which scared Munsterberg and other social

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-12016126011540986002007-02-28T16:06:00.000-05:002007-03-27T15:36:22.301-05:00"Off the Witness Stand": A Psych and Law Conference

"Exactly one hundred years ago, Hugo Munsterberg, William James’s hand-picked successor as the director of Harvard’s Psychology Laboratory, rattled the gates of the criminal justice system, and announced that the social sciences wanted in."Indeed. And one hundred years later, the battle still rages.We'll be attending the "Off the Witness Stand Conference" at the John Jay College of Criminal

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-45055740624602631802007-02-28T15:02:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:24:45.292-05:00Ledbetter Resurfaces, with Teeth

An interesting case came down earlier this month from an appellate court in New Jersey, in which a conviction was overturned for the failure to give jury instructions on a collection of issues relating to a faulty eyewitness identification. Not surprisingly, the court in State v. King (Westlaw -- acct. required) didn't find Manson to possess enough force to keep a bad ID out of court, but it did

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-26329055174334539982007-02-22T17:25:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:12:08.184-05:00West Virginia and Maryland ID Reform Bills Pass Senate Committees Today

Big news on the legislative front today -- eyewitness identification reform bills passed committees in the state senates of both West Virginia and Maryland today. In West Virginia, Senate Bill 82 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning despite substantial resistance from law enforcement, and Maryland's Senate Bill 157 passed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee today as well.West

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-1487478300970649992007-02-20T11:43:00.000-05:002007-03-26T16:14:18.902-05:00New Mexico Eyewitness ID Reform Bill Passes House Judiciary

New Mexico's House Bill 295, the Reliable Eyewitness ID Act, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee last night with a vote of 7-5. The bill now moves on to the House floor. An identical bill made its way through the Senate earlier this month, and reached the House with some minor amendments.The bill is modeled after the DOJ best practices (PDF) on eyewitness identification procedures, but

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-29823321269124791042007-02-16T10:33:00.000-05:002007-02-16T13:43:21.808-05:00A Face in a Crowd, a Face in a Cloud, a Face in a... Photo Array?

An interesting article appeared in the New York Times this week, on the human tendency to extract facial features from our surroundings. The Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich, Mother Teresa in a cinnamon bun, and Jesus Christ on a pierogi. Besides revealing a curious cultural bias, this tendency to see faces -- and, interestingly, specific faces -- led researchers to investigate the

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-89132683902767747822007-02-15T17:58:00.000-05:002007-03-27T16:24:03.788-05:00Eyewitness ID Research: Generally Accepted Science? (People v. LeGrande, NY Court of Appeals)

On Wednesday, the New York Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in People v. LeGrand, a case in which the trial judge last year refused to admit expert testimony (PDF) on the reliability of eyewitness identifications, and further held that such evidence is unreliable under the "general acceptance" standard set forth in Frye v. United States.The case stems from a murder that occurred in upper

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-27024759734333128192007-02-13T21:57:00.000-05:002007-02-13T23:11:41.879-05:00Reform of Outdated Police Procedures : Smart Policy, Smart Politics

Decades of scientific research shows that a few simple reforms to police procedures -- like recording interrogations and identification procedures, using a "blind" method for conducting a photospread or a lineup (one where the police officer running the procedure doesn't know who the suspect is), being careful about how police instruct witnesses -- can ensure that police catch the real culprit

Tim From VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10062447390068951011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466841904393729126.post-74361963520677084722007-02-12T12:57:00.000-05:002007-06-27T09:35:25.834-05:00Recent (disturbing) cites to Manson v. Brathwaite

Manson v. Brathwaite is the seminal Supreme Court eyewitness ID case, which set out the constitutional standard governing the admissibility of eyewitness evidence in criminal courts. A couple of recent cites to Manson caught my attention, insofar as they highlight a couple of the myriad problems with the status quo re: admissibility standards and judicial reasoning on the subject of

Ben Hiltzheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209646722566791998noreply@blogger.com0