Case Name: Scott E. McMULLEN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1995-08-30
Citations: 660 So. 2d 340
Docket Number: No. 93-3582
Parties: Scott E. McMULLEN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: GLICKSTEIN, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 660
Pages: 340–345

Head Matter:
Scott E. McMULLEN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 93-3582.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
Aug. 30, 1995.
Rehearing Denied Oct. 3, 1995.
L. Martin Reeder, Jr., and Steven M. Marks of Steel, Hector & Davis, and Evelyn A. Ziegler, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Myra J. Fried, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for ap-pellee.
John F. Tierney, III, of Tierney & Haughwout, West Palm Beach, for amicus curiae-Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
We affirm appellant's conviction and sentence. See Johnson v. State, 438 So.2d 774, 777 (Fla.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1051, 104 S.Ct. 1329, 79 L.Ed.2d 724 (1984); and Newton v. State, 603 So.2d 558, 560 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992).
The only real question which we believe warrants discussion is whether to certify a question of great public importance; and a majority of us believe that the supreme court should make the decision to accept or decline to do so.
Appellant was charged by a three count information for shooting into a dwelling, the aggravated assault (with a firearm) of Sheron Grewal, and the aggravated battery (with a firearm) of Mohinder Grewal, who, along with his wife Sheron, owned and operated a beer store.
On the night of the incidents, appellant allegedly approached Sheron Grewal outside of the store, while she was sweeping the parking lot. After grabbing her on the shoulder, he then tried to push her inside the store but, when she resisted, he brandished a gun and shoved it into her side.
Hearing noises outside, Mohinder Grewal, who was inside the store working the cash register, walked toward the doorway to look out, but as he approached the doorway he caught a glimpse of the assailant and was immediately shot. The assailant then turned, and fled away. Both Mohinder and Sheron later identified appellant as the assailant.
At trial, appellant attempted to call Dr. John Brigham, a professor of psychology, to testify about the psychological factors that affect the reliability of eyewitness identifications. According to Dr. Brigham, thousands of scientific studies indicate that psychological factors, which are supposedly unknown to the average person, can affect the accuracy of eyewitness identifications. In particular, Dr. Brigham said that he could testify about the following six issues at trial:
1.Eyewitness identifications are incorrect much more often than the average person thinks.
2. A witness's confidence or certainty in an identification is unrelated to the accuracy of the identification.
3. Cross-racial identifications are more difficult than same-race identifications.
4. "Unconscious transference" [i.e., it is easier for a person to remember a face than to remember the circumstances under which the person saw the face].
5. Accuracy of facial identifications decreases in stressful situations.
6. Accuracy of identification decreases as the interval between the event and the time when the witness attempts to retrieve the memory increases.
The state moved in limine to exclude Dr. Brigham's testimony, arguing that the nature of his comments did not require any special knowledge or experience that would assist the jurors in reaching their conclusions, and citing Johnson to support the motion.
The trial court granted the state's motion, reaching the following conclusion in the order which excluded Brigham's testimony:
This Court is of the opinion that the facts testified to by Dr. Brigham are not of such a nature as to require special knowledge in order for a jury to reach a decision. In Johnson v. State, 438 So.2d 774 (Fla.1983), the Florida Supreme Court in affirming the trial court's refusal to allow the testimony of an expert witness in the field of eyewitness identification, held:
"... [A] jury is fully capable of assessing a witness' ability to perceive and remember, given the assistance of cross-examination and cautionary instructions, without the aid of expert testimony."
Thereupon it is
ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the State's Motion in Limine to Exclude Defense Expert on Eyewitness Identification is granted.
(Emphasis added).
Without hearing Brigham's testimony, the jury found appellant guilty of the three offenses charged in the information.
Since Johnson controls the trial court and this court, there is no question in our mind that the trial court ruled correctly on the motion in limine and for the right reason. Nevertheless, we certify as a question of great public importance the following question:
WHEN THE SOLE ISSUE IN A CRIMINAL PROSECUTION IS ONE OF IDENTITY AND THE SOLE INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE IS EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY, SHOULD THE COURT ADMIT EXPERT TESTIMONY UPON THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE RELIABILITY OF EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION.
While the majority is aware that the supreme court categorically rejected such testimony in Johnson, which was decided in 1983, the court may want appellant's counsel, and amicus curiae if permitted, to present the current studies and decisions of other jurisdictions, which over the last twelve years have developed into a large body of literature on the subject testimony, and which were presented to our court.
GLICKSTEIN, J., concurs.
FARMER, J., concurs specially with opinion.
DELL, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.
. United States v. Downing, 753 F.2d 1224 (3d Cir.1985); Skamarocius v. State, 731 P.2d 63 (Alaska Ct.App.1987); State v. Chapple, 135 Ariz. 281, 660 P.2d 1208 (1983); People v. McDonald, 37 Cal.3d 351, 208 Cal.Rptr. 236, 690 P.2d 709 (1984); State v. Campbell, 847 P.2d 228 (Colo.Ct. App.1992); People v. Beckford, 141 Misc.2d 71, 532 N.Y.S.2d 462 (1988); People v. Lewis, 137 Misc.2d 84, 520 N.Y.S.2d 125 (1987); State v. Whaley, 305 S.C. 138, 406 S.E.2d 369 (1991); State v. Moon, 45 Wash.App. 692, 726 P.2d 1263 (1986); Hagan, When Seeing is Not Believing: The Case for Eyewitness Expert Testimony, 81 Geo.L.J. 741 (1993); Holt, Expert Testimony on Eyewitness Identification: Invading tlw Province of thelury?, 26 Ariz.L.Rev. 399 (1984); Johnson, Cross-Racial Identification Errors in Criminal Cases, 69 Cornell L.Rev. 934 (1984); Kassin, Ellsworth & Smith, The "General Acceptance" of Psychological Research on Eyewitness Testimony, Am.Psychologist, Aug. 1989, at 1089; Lloyd-Bos-tock & Clifford, Evaluating Witness Evidence: Recent Psychological Research and New Perspectives (1983); Penrod & Cutler, Eyewitness Expert Testimony and Jury Decisionmaking, 52 L. & Contemp.Probs. 43 (1989); Sobel, Eyewitness Identification: Legal and Practical Problems (2d ed. 1983); Wells & Loftus, Eyewitness Testimony: Psychological Perspectives (1984).