Lineups And Photo Arrays: What You Need To Know
If you are a suspect in a criminal case, police may want you to participate in a lineup, or they may use a photo of you in a photo array. You should be aware of what things can taint these witness identification procedures, and avoid them if possible.
This can become especially important when it comes to crimes involving weapons. People tend to focus more on the weapon and less on the appearance and details of the persons holding them, so misidentifications and unfair imprinting are likely to occur.
Lineups
If you watch any TV crime shows, you are probably familiar with a lineup, which is when a suspect is brought in with 5 or so other people and stands against a wall. The witness is asked to see if they recognize the suspect that was involved in the incident.
Some police habits encourage inaccurate witness IDs from lineups. These mistakes may include:
- No effort made to bring in decoys (persons participating in the lineup) that look similar to the suspect. For instance, the suspect was said to be tall and dark haired, and then you find that you are the only tall, dark haired person in the lineup.
- More than one witness is viewing the lineup at the same time. One person's comments can taint another witness's memories of the event.
- The police officer in charge of the lineup knows that you are a person of interest and overtly or subconsciously does things to sway the witnesses.
- The witnesses are told that the suspect is definitely in the lineup, thereby exerting a pressure to choose somebody despite initial reservations.
Proper lineups should be composed of similar looking people and orchestrated by an officer who has nothing to do with the case. Witnesses should also be brought into the viewing room separately, and they should be told that the suspect "may or may not be in the line up" to dispel unwarranted pressure to choose someone.
Photo Arrays
Photo arrays (a method of identifying a suspect from several photos of different people) are common method for suspect identification. They can also result in problems, especially if the officer conducting a photo array is handling the case. This is because of unconscious cues officers might give.
Another mistake officers can make is showing pictures that are different from yours and make you stand out because of elements such as head positioning and background.
The manner pictures may be shown in is controversial. Some initial studies indicated that showing several pictures at the same time could result in false identifications. This was said to be because human brains are wired to make comparisons and subsequently choices, so a witness would feel pressure to choose.
Subsequent studies also indicate problems with the recommended sequential method, which is showing each photo one at a time. This is because a witness may choose someone in a photo early in the process and then be afraid to choose again after that, or they may question their original choice if the officer continues showing photos.
Sometimes police departments resist using a officer who is not involved, and will cite lack of manpower to do "blind" lineups or photo arrays.
Legal Representation
If you haven't been arrested yet, you would not have access to a court appointed lawyer even if you wanted one. The police can still compel you to participate in a lineup. or they could show your image to witnesses by means of a photo array. You would want to make note of any deviations from accepted practices for your defense.
You would benefit by hiring an attorney, such as Thomas A Corletta, as soon you discover you could be a suspect in a felony or serious misdemeanor crime. Their presence would ensure that any of these methods would be done properly. If they aren't, your attorney could then challenge their results in court.
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