Opinion ID: 683141
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Tran's Contentions on Appeal.

Text: 63 On appeal, Tran renews his contention that the pretrial procedure was suggestive. Tran also argues that because Pang was ordered to keep her head down by the robbers, she did not have an independently reliable basis for the identification. We disagree. 64 The district court's conclusion that Pang's agitation kept her from noticing her husband's signature on Tran's photo is a finding of fact based on the court's observation of the witness' demeanor, and is not clearly erroneous. Moreover, police suggestiveness does not require the suppression of an identification if the witness was not thereby influenced, as, for example, when the witness's identification was already positive. Jarrett, 802 F.2d at 41-42. The evidence is undisputed that Pang identified Tran's photograph before it was turned over for her to affix her signature on the reverse side, and thus before she had any opportunity to view her husband's signature. Thus, her identification was firm before the asserted suggestiveness came into play. 65 In addition, although our conclusion that Pang's identification of Tran was not affected by any suggestive police procedure eliminates the need to inquire into the independent reliability of Pang's identification, see Jacobowitz, 877 F.2d at 168, we note that it exhibits very strong indicia of reliability. Pang had an ample opportunity to view Tran, and the incident understandably held her full attention. See Neil, 409 U.S. at 200 & n. 7, 93 S.Ct. at 383 & n. 7. Pang displayed complete certainty about her identification. Under these circumstances, neither the fact that Pang had not previously provided a description of Tung Tran, nor the fact that her photo identification occurred six months after the incident (and her in-court identification twenty-five months after the incident) renders her identification unreliable. See Jacobowitz, 877 F.2d at 168. Finally, while Tran argues that Pang's pretrial failure to identify anyone before or after viewing the photo arrays in the coffee shop is an indication that she has no independent recollection of the robbery, it is just as likely (or more likely, given Pang's opportunity to view the intruders) to be a manifestation of extreme conscientiousness as a witness. See Neil, 409 U.S. at 201, 93 S.Ct. at 383. 66