GREGORY CHANDLER ON EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION

An interesting case on the subject of eyewitness identification is
United States v. Smith, 12 F. 3d 1355 (11th Cir. 1997). The Court
affirmed a bank robbery conviction, holding there was no abuse of discretion in excluding expert testimony offered on behalf of the defendant regarding the reliability of eyewitness identifications. 

The Court noted that precedent disfavoring such evidence has not been disturbed since the testimony, although scientific knowledge, does not assist the fact-finder.  This is because the jury is able to determine the reliability of eyewitness identification with the tools of cross-examination.  Furthermore, the defendant was sufficiently protected by instructions highlighting such problems as cross-racial identification, potential bias from earlier identifications, delay between the event and the identification, and stress.


GREGORY CHANDLER, Attorney at Law