Keywords
eyewitness identification, court, law, policy
Document Type
Article
Abstract
As courts struggle with issues concerning the admissibility of eyewitness identification, reliability has emerged as a touchstone of due process analysis. Factors commonly considered by courts in assessing reliability include the witness’s opportunity to view the criminal at the time of the crime, the witness’s degree of attention to the crime, the accuracy of any prior description of the criminal, the level of certainty demonstrated at the confrontation, and the amount of time between the crime and the confrontation. Unfortunately, the empirical record, including the results of this study, indicates that these factors do not have a strong or consistent ability to discriminate between accurate, and thus reliable, identifications and those that are in error. The policy implications of the courts’ continued reliance on an inadequate tool for assessing reliability are evaluated, and policy reforms are discussed.
Recommended Citation
McGuire, Dyan
(2018)
"Eyewitness Identification: Are We Asking the Right Questions?,"
Journal of Criminal Justice and Law: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/jcjl/vol2/iss1/3