Opinion ID: 21722
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: In-Court and Out- of-Court Identifications

Text: 10 Honer contends that the admission of evidence concerning the out-of-court photographic identification deprived him of due process and constituted reversible error. He asserts that the photo line-up was impermissibly suggestive and that the admission of the evidence of the photo line-up was error, as it bolstered the in-court identification and thus affected the verdict. He also contends that the Government, by failing to produce the photographs used in the photo lineup, deprived him of the right of confrontation. He also argues that the government violated the rules of discovery, deprived him of exculpatory evidence, and generally deprived him of an opportunity to challenge the fairness of the lineup. Honer asserts that these errors accumulated, and constitute reversible error. 11 A conviction based on an eyewitness identification at trial following a pretrial photographic identification must be set aside only if the photographic identification procedure was so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 384, 88 S.Ct. 967, 971, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968). We apply a two-prong test to determine whether to exclude an in-court identification. First, we ask whether the photographic line-up is impermissibly suggestive. See Fletcher, 121 F.3d at 194. If it was not, our inquiry ends. If the photographic line-up was impermissibly suggestive,we next ask whether based upon the totality of circumstances, the display posed a 'very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.' Id.; see Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 114, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 2252, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977). 12 Regarding the first prong, the government contends that the photographic line-up was not impermissibly suggestive. However, when the government fails to preserve the photographic array used in a pretrial line-up there shall exist a presumption that the array is impermissibly suggestive. United States v. Sonderup, 639 F.2d 294, 298 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 920, 101 S.Ct. 3059, 69 L.Ed.2d 426 (1981)(quoting Branch v. Estelle, 631 F.2d 1229, 1234 (5th Cir. 1980))(emphasis added). The Government disclosed that the photo array was not preserved and thus would not be entered into evidence prior to trial. Though the record discloses no evidence of bad faith by the government, the presumption that the array was impermissibly suggestive applies nonetheless. 13 Because the government does not overcome the presumption that the pretrial photo line-up was impermissibly suggestive, we next must determine whether under the totality of the circumstances, the pretrial photo line-up was so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. See, Simmons, supra. In other words, we must determine whether the in-court identification is reliable, notwithstanding the impermissibly suggestive pretrial photo line-up. See Manson, 432 U.S. at 114, 97 S.Ct. at 2252 (asserting that the gravamen of this determination is reliability). In the landmark case of Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 199, 93 S.Ct. 375, 382, 34 L.Ed.2d 401 (1972), the Court set forth factors to determine whether under the totality of the circumstances, an in-court identification was reliable. These factors include: the opportunity of the witness to view the criminal at the time of the crime; the witness' degree of attention; the accuracy of the witness' prior description of the criminal; the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the confrontation; and the length of time between the crime and the confrontation. See Neil, 409 U.S. at 199, 93 S.Ct. at 382. In-court Identification of Agent Pack 14 Agent Pack had ample opportunity to observe Jackie Honer at the time of the drug purchase. At trial, Agent Pack identified Honer with certainty as the man who sold him one and a half ounces of crack cocaine from the car Honer parked at the Dairy Queen on February 22, 1998. Agent Pack testified that he had undergone extensive training on observations and studying faces for identification. He testified that the night of the purchase, he was parked in front of a well lit Dairy Queen when Jackie Honer parked next to his vehicle, and that he studied Honer's face as he rolled down the window and the two conversed. Agent Pack testified that he studied Honer's face at closer range when he got into his car and carried out the transaction, as $1,275 dollars in cash was counted and the crack was broken down into rocks. He further testified that he studied Honer's face when Spann returned from inside the Dairy Queen and the three briefly conversed before Honer departed. 15 In addition to having previously seen a photograph of Jackie Honer because he and his brothers were the subjects of a long term investigation, Agent Pack identified Jackie Honer's photograph the day after the transaction occurred. Agent Pack was also present at Honer's arrest when he again identified Honer. 16 Also, Agent Pack provided a reasonably accurate description of Jackie Honer, as he described him in his report as being approximately six feet tall and 185 lbs. Agent Pack further indicated that the man from whom he made the drug purchase at the Dairy Queen, had gold teeth. The defense argues that Agent Pack's description of Honer was inaccurate.The presentence report reveals that Jackie Honer is actually 5'11 in height and 170 lbs., close to Agent Pack's description which was only an estimation he noted in his report. Honer did not present any evidence at trial, other than to walk up and down in front of the jury box, displaying his teeth without gold features. Arguing that he was misidentified, Honer contends that Agent Pack's written description of the seller does not comport with his actual physical description because he had no gold teeth at trial. We are unpersuaded by this argument because of the temporality of gold fronts or caps, popularly worn. Considering the strength of Agent Pack's testimony regarding the duration of the drug transaction and Agent Pack's previous and repeated exposure to Honer, the in-court identification of Honer was reliable. Although the Government's failure to preserve the photographic array was careless and inexcusable, that error is not dispositive in this case because there was little likelihood of misidentification. 2 In-court Identification of Spann 17 Honer also contests the admission of Spann's pretrial identification of his photograph. Spann was unable to identify Honer at trial. On cross-examination she recounted that her interaction with the driver only lasted a second. In so far as Spann had identified Honer's picture out of the line up the day after the purchase, she could only testify that the photograph she picked out by glancing at him that night [] looked like the same person. The single photo Spann identified of Jackie Honer was admitted into evidence. 3 18 Because the government failed to present the complete photo line-up at trial, we again presume the line up was impermissibly suggestive because of the absence of the array at trial. Sonderup, 639 F.2d at 298-299. For reasons stated above, the government does not rebut this presumption. 19 Therefore, we next ask whether Spann's in-court identification, notwithstanding the government's failure to introduce the complete photo line-up, was reliable. Our review of the totality of circumstances reveals that Spann's in-court identification was not reliable. Spann's inability to identify Honer at trial was arguably due to her brief interaction with him, and the fact that the trial was more than one year after the transaction occurred. Spann was not an eye-witness to the offense because at the time of the transaction she was inside the Dairy Queen. When she emerged, her only conversation with the seller was probablythree words. On cross examination Spann could not recall anything distinctive about the driver of the Chevy. If, as the Government concedes, Spann did not see the seller long enough to make an identification, then her photographic identification was likewise flawed. Beginning with our presumption that the line up was impermissibly suggestive, considering Spann's low degree of certainty regarding the factors set forth in Neil v. Biggers, and noting the improper admission into evidence of Honer's single photograph, we find that admission into evidence of Spann's pretrial identification of Honer's photograph was error. 4 20 Based on these deficiencies, Honer argues that his conviction should be reversed. We do not agree. Spann's unreliable identification did not affect the reliability of Agent Pack's in-court identification. Thus, Spann's in-court identification of Honer did not cumulatively or individually, fatally damage the reliability of Agent Pack's in-court identification or rise to the level of establishing reversible error. An error is harmless if it is beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained. Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 828, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). Having carefully reviewed the record in this case, we are convinced that Agent Pack's testimony was so independently reliable that the jury could have, and did, render a guilty verdict that was not tainted by the government's miscues. Accordingly, the identification of Jackie Honer was reliable and we have confidence in the verdict obtained.