Source: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2007_SESSIONS/RS/BILLS/SB82%20SUB1.htm
Timestamp: 2017-10-17 13:32:03
Document Index: 532208559

Matched Legal Cases: ['§62', '§62', '§62', '§62', '§62', '§62']

SB82 SUB1
reported February 22, 2007.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §62-1E-1, §62-1E-2, §62-1E-3, §62-1E-4, §62-1E-5 and §62-1E-6, all relating to adopting procedures recommended by the United States Department of Justice to improve the reliability of eyewitness' identification in criminal matters; adopting a short title; listing legislative findings; defining terms; providing remedies for noncompliance; and improving training for law-enforcement officers.
This act is known as the Eyewitness Identification Reform Act.
This law is enacted by the Legislature to adopt procedures to improve the reliability of eyewitness' identification in criminal matters.
(1) Innocent people are sometimes accused or convicted of serious crimes because of mistaken eyewitness identification.
(2) Improperly conducted lineup identifications may result in mistaken eyewitness identification distracting law-enforcement agencies from apprehending the correct perpetrators.
(3) Many law-enforcement experts now recognize the problem of mistaken identifications and have recommended solutions.
(4) The National Institute of Justice, an agency of the United States Department of Justice, recommends having "Blind" lineup administrators, giving certain instructions to witnesses and having sequential presentations of the lineups.
(a)Lineups conducted by state, county and local law-enforcement officers shall meet the following requirements:
(2) Before a lineup, the eyewitness shall be given the following four instructions: (i) That the lineup administrator does not know which person is the suspect (this instruction is to be given even when the lineup administrator knows which person is the suspect); (ii) that the perpetrator might or might not be present in the lineup; (iii) that the eyewitness is not required to make an identification; and (iv) that it is as important to exclude innocent persons as it is to identify the perpetrator.
(2) The names of every person in the lineup and all other persons present at the lineup.
(3) The words used by the eyewitness in any identification, including words that describe the eyewitness' certainty or uncertainty in the identification.
(7) Whether before the lineup, the eyewitness was instructed that the perpetrator might or might not be presented in the lineup, and also whether the eyewitness was instructed that the lineup administrator did not know the identity of the suspect.
(c) When evidence of noncompliance with the requirements of this article has been presented at trial, the jury shall be instructed that it may consider credible evidence of noncompliance in determining the reliability of an eyewitness' identification if the defense request such an instruction.
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is adopt procedures recommenced by the National Institute of Justice, an agency of the United States Department of Justice, to improve the reliability of eyewitness identification in criminal matters.