Introduction and Background Information
Identification procedures, line ups and show ups form some of the most important and fundamental elements of criminal procedure that help in the investigation of crime and bringing to justice to those suspected to have committed an offence. An identification procedure normally involves the identification parade or line ups whereby a victim or witnessed the commission of a crime is allowed to single-handedly pick out the individual they allegedly saw at the scene of the crime or in the actual act. On the other hand, show ups enable witnesses of crime commission to decide whether one is a perpetrator by simply looking at them at the police station. There are certain important legal procedural requirements in these processes such as the Fourth and Sixth Amendments to the US Constitution rights of suspects like legal representation and Miranda rights.
Purpose and Objectives of the Study
The purpose of this research study is to analyze the effectiveness of the criminal identification procedures within the criminal justice system. Specifically, the objective of this paper is to examine the process and procedures involved in line ups and show ups including how the legal rights of suspects may best be protected during these procedures.
Statement of the Problem
The main issue that concerns the use of identification procedures in criminal investigation processes is the fact that in some cases where there is false witness identification during line ups and show ups, the likelihood of convicting innocent people is very high.
Research Questions
The main question that this study seeks to answer is: what are the necessary precautions to be taken during identification procedures to protect individual suspects?
Literature Review
According to Wells, Small et al. (1), “there is increasing evidence that false eyewitness identification is the primary cause of conviction of innocent people.” Moreover, Cicchini and Easton (381), research and statistics show that eyewitness identification criminal evidence gathered through photo arrays, lineups and show ups can sometimes be unreliable and has more often than not resulted in wrongful convictions. There is therefore need, the authors argue, to reform the criminal law on show up identification procedures. Mourier puts this reality into context when she tells of the story of one Bobby Joe who was convicted on unreliable eyewitness accounts without any corroborating evidence by the law enforcement officials and prosecutors. A wrongful conviction was confirmed when Bobby Joe was finally exonerated after serving for 16 years (49-50). In cases of identification by children, Freire, Lee and Lindsay (345) argue that there could be clothing bias or cues that could dent the accuracy of the process and lead to wrong identification. Furthermore, while quoting from the recommendations made by the report by the National Institute of Justice, Kassin suggests double-blind line-up testing, immediate confidence assessment, witness description distractor matching and unbiased instructions to witnesses (649) as being some of the ways of enhancing the effectiveness of identification procedures.
Research Methodology
The study will mainly involve desk top research that makes use of secondary sources of data such as books, genuine reliable internet sources and peer reviewed journals.
Works Cited
Cicchini, Michael D and Joseph G Easton. "Reforming the law on show-up identifications." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 100.2 (2010): 381-414. Web. 8 February 2016. <http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7352&context=jclc>.
Freire, Alejo, Kang Lee and R C L Lindsay. "Line up identification by children: Effects of clothing bias." Journal of Law and Human Behavior 28.3 (2004): 339-354. Web. 8 February 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2566483/>.
Kassin, Saul M. "Eyewitness identification procedures: The fifth rule." Law and Human Behavior Journal 22.6 (1998): 649-653. Web. 8 February 2016. <http://web.williams.edu/Psychology/Faculty/Kassin/files/kassin_1998.pdf>.
Mourer, Sara Anne. "Reforming eyewitness identification procedures under the Fourth Amendment." Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy 3.49 (2008): 49-90. Web. 8 February 2016. <http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=djclpp>.
Wells, Garry L, et al. "Eyewitness identification procedures: Recommendations for lineups and photospreads." Journal of Law and Human Behavior 22.6 (1998): 1-39. Web. 8 February 2016. <https://public.psych.iastate.edu/glwells/whitepaperpdf.pdf>.
