Criminal Law

What Is Witness Misidentification?

Key Takeaways:

  • Most people can’t recall every detail of a particular moment in time, so the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is not always trustworthy. 
  • Eyewitness testimony continues to be one of the most popular types of evidence presented in criminal trials.
  • It is possible to overturn a wrongful conviction based on witness misidentification, but it is difficult.

After a crime, police will look for victims and eyewitnesses to identify the alleged guilty party. During eyewitness identification procedures, such as a police lineup or a review of photos, police will ask those victims and witnesses to identify the wrongdoer.

Unfortunately, eyewitness accounts are not a foolproof method, and they can identify the wrong person. This is called “witness misidentification,” and it is a leading cause of wrongful convictions.

If you are facing criminal charges and the prosecution is relying on misidentification, a criminal defense attorney can fight to cast doubt on that evidence or keep it out of court completely.

What Causes Wrong Eyewitness Identifications?

For various reasons, eyewitness memory and witness misidentification are real human errors that lead to wrongful convictions later overturned using DNA evidence. While criminal law and the criminal justice system depend on witness testimony to secure convictions, witness misidentification is too common.

Eyewitness testimony continues to be one of the most commonly used – and widely believed – forms of evidence in criminal proceedings.

Eyewitness misidentifications can happen because the human memory does not work like a video recorder. Most people can’t recall every detail of a particular moment in time, so the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is not always trustworthy.

Events can become even harder to recall when they involve witnessing an event:

  • Quickly
  • Far away
  • In poor lighting
  • In outdoor or bad weather conditions
  • Under stress
  • In traumatic conditions

Many factors like these play into mistaken eyewitness identification, including what experts call “estimator variables” and “system variables.” This is especially true in high-stress situations like witnessing an alleged crime taking place.

Estimator Variables vs System Variables in Eyewitness Identification Procedures

Estimator variables are influences that are uncontrolled by the criminal justice system. This includes lighting, stress, and the races of the suspect and the witness. Cross-racial identification is a common problem with witnesses.

On the other hand, system variables also affect eyewitness accounts. These are factors that the criminal justice system can control.

System variables include the methods law enforcement uses to perform:

  • Suspect lineups and lineup procedures
  • Photo arrays or photo lineup of suspects
  • Questioning the eyewitness or victim

Criminal investigations must try to minimize the potential for misidentification by eyewitnesses. Adhering to due process is one way. However, a review of wrongfully convicted cases based on eyewitness testimony proves witness misidentification is a common factor in many wrongful convictions.

How Can Witness Misidentification Lead to a Wrongful Conviction?

Eyewitness misidentification can potentially lead to wrongful convictions in several ways:

  • Misidentifying the perpetrator of a crime, so law enforcement officials lose precious time pursuing the wrong person
  • Purposefully identifying the wrong person to blame the crime on someone else or providing false testimony
  • Receiving cues from law enforcement officials that identify the desired suspect when faced with lineups or photo arrays
  • Choosing whoever looks closest to the person witnessed at the crime scene rather than relying on actual memories of the crime
  • Judges and juries believing eyewitnesses, particularly when the witness is an innocent bystander or upstanding citizen who genuinely believes that they have identified the correct person

Double Blind Lineups as a Solution

A double-blind lineup is a leading part of eyewitness identification reform from the Innocence Project. It requires the person who sets the lineup of possible perpetrators not to know who the suspect is. This helps prevent them from cueing the victim or eyewitness, whether intentionally or by accident. More states may adopt eyewitness identification evidence reform in the future.

Consequences of Witness Misidentification

The most severe and most common consequences of witness misidentifications in criminal cases are wrongful convictions.

The National Registry of Exonerations maintains a database of people wrongfully convicted and later exonerated. As of the publication of this article, the most recent person to be exonerated and released from prison after being wrongfully convicted due to witness misidentification is Eric Brunner. He was wrongly convicted of sexual assault as the result of witness misidentification and served 27 years in prison before DNA evidence and DNA testing proved he did not do it.

Overturning a Wrongful Conviction Based on Witness Misidentification

Eyewitness misidentification may be a basis for overturning a wrongful conviction in some circumstances when innocent people are in prison. This is particularly true if:

  • There was little other evidence in support of the conviction
  • Other evidence in your favor was not disclosed
  • Evidence was not brought forward in your trial or was discovered later
  • There was a lack of technology at the time

For instance, in older convictions, a lack of technology means they did not utilize DNA testing and DNA evidence.

Now, old evidence can be retested using DNA, which has resulted in exonerating people previously convicted based on witness misidentification. The testing must be done well.

Appealing A Criminal Conviction Based on Eyewitnesses

The appeals process in criminal cases is designed to confirm that the correct person was convicted. Every state has procedures for the review of a criminal conviction. It typically starts with the trial judge reconsidering the matter.

This request for review starts with filing a motion with the trial court that explains the reasons that you believe your conviction was erroneous. It must also list any applicable law in support of those reasons.

In the case of witness misidentification, your motion would explain why and how the witness mistakenly identified the wrong person. If your request for review is unsuccessful, you can take your case to higher appellate courts in your state, including your state supreme court.

Winning an Eyewitness Misidentification Case

If you and your criminal defense attorney prove the eyewitness account was wrong, and your sentence is overturned, you have options. You can sue for compensation for your time spent in prison.

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