Flashcards
ID evidence
Cards in this deck (59)
- 1ID evidence formsexpert evidence
DNA, fingerprints, matching fibres
Real evidence
voice identification from tape, image on CCTV
eye witness id - 2problems with id evidencenotoriously unreliable
blamed for miscarriages of justice - 3criminal law revision committee1970's no longer exists
"we regard mistaken identification as by far the greatest cause of actual or possible wrong convictions" - 4Adolf Beckwrongly convicted twice of fraud
11+4 witnesses all wrong
led to court of criminal appeal (1907) - 5four major types of problem with identificationobservation errors
memory errors
recall errors
difficulties in evaluating error - 6observation errorsconditions of observations such as lighting, movement and length of observation
a gun draws attention to the gun and away from the person
stress lowers accuracy of observation e.g. gun
we fill in gaps in our head of what we expect to see - 7memory errorsdeterioration of evidence
we replay it in our head however this is just the memory and not the actual incident so a lot of detail can be lost
we are very sensitive to how people question our memories - 8difficulty of evaluationconsistency and confidence less reliable indicators than we think
- 9recall errorswords can influence what we think we have seen
comparison between hit and smash
unreliability if we allow witnesses to discuss and share what they think they have seen - 10Luke Dougherty Virag 1974both convicted on eyewitness evidence both released
- 11Devlin Report 1976recommended safeguards but never implemented
- 12Turnbull 1977the house of lords took the opportunity to do something as it looked as though parliament were not going to
lays down guidelines to address issue of how judges should present id evidence at trial - 13what needs to be said in a turnbull warningdoes not need to be exact words but needs to convey general sense
- special need for caution when case depends on correctness of visual id
- reason for caution is a witness who his genuinely convinced of correctness may be impressive but mistaken
even when a number of witnesses make same id - 14specific elements in Turnbull warning- specific circumstances of id e.g. light, distance, length, obstruction
- factors affecting reliable recall
e.g. time lapse, contamination
- judge should identify specific weaknesses in id and way conducted - 15R v Vasco (2012)recent example of poor practice
- 16contaminationhas the suspect been shown by the press?
conversation between witnesses and other people - 17When should turnbull warning s be given Turnbull 1977where P's case depends wholly or substantially on disputed ID but main focus was on fleeting glimpse cases
i.e. weak id - 18Bradley (2004)if there is a disputed id and that is a significant issue of the case you should still give a turnbull warning even where the id is strong
- 19Thomas (2010)no turnbull warning where description not id
- 20Browning (1992)no turnbull warning where identification of car
- 21Slater 1995no turnbull warning needed if D doesn't dispute presence unless still possibility of mistaken id
- 22exceptions to turnbull warningjury identify person on basis of photos or videos
- 23Bentley (1994)recognition evidence also needs a turnbull warning
- 24Giga 2007if the witness is honest is there nevertheless still the possibility of honest mistake
- 25Daley v R 1994if there is poor quality id evidence and no supporting evidence then the judge must withdraw the case from jury
- 26Ley 2007trial judge must as self where prosecution case depends entirely on ID did the id evidence cross the quality threshold sufficient to be left to the jury
- 27Reid 1994good quality id evidence should be left to jury even if no supporting evidence
- 28McInnes 1989where jury left to consider id evidence they should be directed to consider in light of other supporting evidence
- 29PACE Code Doriginally result of recommendations by royal commission on criminal procedure 1981
regulated eye witness id and other id procedures - 30purposes of code Densure id procedures fair to d and evidence is reliable
provide guidance for conduct for police
provide standards to assess quality and reliability of evidence
assist j in exercising s78 discretion - 31PACE Code D para 3eyewitness id
sets out procedures
detailed description should be taken before any id procedure - 32known suspectwhere there is sufficient information to justify the arrest of that person on suspicion of involvement in the offence
- 33'available' suspectwhere known suspect is available an willing to take part in an id procedure
- 34formal proceduresvideo id
group id
confrontation - 35informal procedurewhere suspect is not known and the police can take them to a place where the suspect may be
- 36R v Alexander (2012)informal v identification on Facebook
- 37principles applying to informal procedureswhere practicable record description beforehand
careful not to direct the witnesses attention to a particular person unless unavoidable
keep witnesses separate
keep detailed record of all circumstances of id - 38use of photoscannot be used for known and available witnesses
can be shown if suspect is not known in accordance with Annex E
if suspect picked out they need to be arrested and a formal procedure done - 39where suspect is known and availableorder of preference
video id
id parade
group id
D must be offered video id first
video id is easier and more reliable - 40group idengineering a proves where the witness can see the suspect in a group of people
e.g. rail station - 41adverse inferencesjury can draw adverse inferences if id parade is refused
- 42confrontationsuddenly put the witness in the presence of the suspect and ask was it him?
should be avoided
seen to be prejudicial
might be used if the suspect refused to consent - 43Video Id id parade group idannex A
annex B
Annex - 44what if suspect is known but not availablemay seek to capture covertly on film for video ID
stage covert group id
show witness photos or other images to see if can ID suspect
stage confrontation - 45Perry v UK 2003was covertly videoed for video id after not turning up for number of id parades
breached article 8 but not article 6 as there is a safeguard in which judge can exclude evidence if necesssary - 46Popat 1998 Forbes 2001- no need for formal id after informal id
- house of lords decided must be a formal id after informal id to give defendant best possible chance - 47where Code D does not applycontinuous ID from offence to arrest
description not id
W unable to make an id
pure recognition cases
D admits presence disputes invovlement - 48Oscar 1991description not id
- 49Nicholson 2000Witness clear unable to make an ID
- 50breaches of code D s78 PACEexclusion is not automatic
criteria to consider
- police bad faith
- quantity of breaches
- degree of prejudice to D's legitimate interests - 51Popat 1998compliance or non-compliance not decisive but a factor for the court to consider
- 52Marcus 2004police bad faith
s78 exclusion criteria - 53Finley 2003quantity of breaches
s78 exclusion criteria - 54Selwyn 2012degree of prejudice to D's legitimate aim
s78 exclusion criteria - 55Forbes 2001where breach does not require exclusion of evidence trial judge should still highlight in turnbull warning and invite jury to consider effects
- 56Rutherford 1994if ID evidence admitted which should have been excluded CA may still uphold conviction if strong other evidence of guilty and proper warning about breach given
- 57Barnes v CC Durham 1997Dock id not inadmissible but generally thought undesirable
- 58id through automatic or mechanical recordings such as cctv footage, photosadmissible as real evidence
as the evidence has value without witnesses having to assess the value - 59use of photofit and indetikit pictures at trialas they derive from human memory regarded as hearsay
but now admitted as an exception to hearsay rule under criminal justice act s 115(2)
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- evidence Flashcards on ID evidence, created by Yaz Rich on 30/04/2014.
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- Yaz Rich
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