{"id":662,"date":"2012-08-03T15:35:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-03T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/?page_id=662"},"modified":"2012-09-05T17:38:34","modified_gmt":"2012-09-05T17:38:34","slug":"identification-testimony","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/?page_id=662","title":{"rendered":"Identification Testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>CR05-601.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vtjuryinstructions.org\/criminal\/MS05-601.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Eyewitness Testimony<\/a> (12\/08\/03)<\/li>\n<li>CR05-605.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vtjuryinstructions.org\/criminal\/MS05-605.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Line-Ups<\/a> (09\/22\/03)<\/li>\n<li>CR05-611.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vtjuryinstructions.org\/criminal\/MS05-611.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Identification Based on Signature Conduct<\/a> (11\/09\/07)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Reporter&#8217;s Note:<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>(August 2012 Warning: Use these instructions with caution<\/strong>.\u00a0 The issue of eyewitness testimony has recently received considerable attention in the news, at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberglaw.com\/public\/document\/Perry_v_New_Hampshire_No_108974_2012_BL_6771_US_Jan_11_2012_Court\" target=\"_blank\">the Supreme Court of the United States<\/a>, and in other states, most notably New Jersey (both by <a href=\"http:\/\/lawlibrary.rutgers.edu\/collections\/courts\/supreme\/a-8-08_1.opn.html\" target=\"_blank\">opinion<\/a> and by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.judiciary.state.nj.us\/pressrel\/2012\/pr120719a.htm\" target=\"_blank\">newly-adopted jury instructions<\/a> in that state).\u00a0 The committee has not yet discussed the recent developments.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most criminal cases will include identity as the first essential element, with a short instruction such as CR09-011.\u00a0 If the case is one in which the issue of identity turns on eyewitness identification, it may be appropriate to include a longer instruction.\u00a0 Instruction CR05-601 derives from <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">State v. Seifert<\/span>, 151 Vt. 66 (1989).\u00a0 <em>Also see<\/em> Devitt and Blackmer, Fed. Jury Inst. Vol 1. \u00a7 15.19; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">State v. Kasper<\/span>, 137 Vt. 184, 192-93 (1979). \u00a0Instruction CR05-605 addresses testimony about identification in a line-up.\u00a0 Instruction CR05-611 is designed to address the very specific circumstances of identification based on signature conduct.\u00a0 <em>See<\/em> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">State<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> v. Bruyette<\/span>, 158Vt. 21 (1992).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instruction CR05-601 has been shortened from the one given in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Seifert<\/span>.\u00a0 The model instruction does not include a list of factors that could affect a witness\u2019s opportunity to observe a suspect.\u00a0 In <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Seifert<\/span>, the list of factors was approximately as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (a) How much time was available for the observation?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (b) How close was the witness to the person being observed?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (c) How good were the lighting conditions?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (d) Was the witness paying attention to the other person?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (e) How accurate was the witness\u2019s prior description of the alleged perpetrator?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (f) How certain was the witness in making the identification?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (g) How much time passed between the alleged offense and the witness\u2019s identification?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (h) Had the witness seen or known the other person in the past?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The committee cautions against using a longer instruction on eyewitness identification.\u00a0 One concern is that the jury might interpret a lengthy instruction as reflecting the judge\u2019s views on the identification, without any firm basis in law.\u00a0 Another concern is that the traditional views about factors to consider (such as the level of certainty) may conflict with modern research.\u00a0 This is an evolving area of the law, and the court should consider attorneys\u2019 requests for instructions in particular cases.\u00a0 There is a developing body of research, and the general approach to eyewitness identification may be evolving.\u00a0 <em>See<\/em> the article by Atul Gawande, \u201cUnder Suspicion \u2013 The fugitive science of criminal justice,\u201d The New Yorker (January 8, 2001) at 50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CR05-601.\u00a0\u00a0Eyewitness Testimony (12\/08\/03) CR05-605.\u00a0 Line-Ups (09\/22\/03) CR05-611.\u00a0 Identification Based on Signature Conduct (11\/09\/07) Reporter&#8217;s Note: (August 2012 Warning: Use these instructions with caution.\u00a0 The issue of eyewitness testimony has recently received considerable attention in the news, at the Supreme Court &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/?page_id=662\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":653,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-662","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=662"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":930,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/662\/revisions\/930"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}