Opinion ID: 669661
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admissibility of Pre-Trial Identification Testimony

Text: 10 After conducting the pre-trial Wade hearing, the district court determined that the pre-trial identification in this case was admissible. We will reverse such a determination only upon a showing of clear error. United States v. Simmons, 923 F.2d 934, 950 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 500 U.S. 919, 111 S.Ct. 2018, 114 L.Ed.2d 104 (1991); United States v. DiTommaso, 817 F.2d 201, 213 (2d Cir.1987). 11 Under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(1)(C), a prior identification is generally admissible. See United States v. Owens, 484 U.S. 554, 562-63, 108 S.Ct. 838, 844, 98 L.Ed.2d 951 (1988). We will exclude a pre-trial identification only if the procedure that produced the identification is so unnecessarily suggestive and conducive to irreparable mistaken identification that [the defendant] was denied due process of law. Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 302, 87 S.Ct. 1967, 1972, 18 L.Ed.2d 1199 (1967); see also Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 384, 88 S.Ct. 967, 971, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968); United States v. Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d 934, 973 (2d Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 2858, 115 L.Ed.2d 1025 (1991). That is, we will exclude a pre-trial identification only if it was both produced through an unnecessarily suggestive procedure and unreliable. Even if the procedure was unnecessarily (or impermissibly) 5 suggestive, therefore, a district court may still admit the evidence if, when viewed in the totality of the circumstances, it possesses sufficient indicia of reliability. Simmons, 923 F.2d at 950; see generally Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 114, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 2253, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977) (reliability is the linchpin in determining the admissibility of identification testimony). 12 Minier-Contreras argues that the pre-trial identification procedure was suggestive in that he was presented to the CI in handcuffs; at night; in the custody of police officers; with his face lit by flashlights; and in the presence of Johnson who, each time the CI identified a suspect, radioed to his fellow officers, it's a hit. Minier-Contreras argues further, as he must, that the identification procedure was unnecessarily suggestive. See United States v. Stevens, 935 F.2d 1380, 1389 (3d Cir.1991) (whether identification procedure was unnecessarily suggestive depends on (1) suggestiveness of procedure and (2) necessity of procedure). Specifically, he argues that the identification by the CI was unnecessary because the suspects had already been identified by Johnson. 13 We find that the presentation of the suspects to the CI immediately following the raid was not unnecessarily suggestive. As Minier-Contreras's brief points out, [a] prompt showing of a detained suspect at the scene of arrest has a very valid function: to prevent the mistaken arrest of innocent persons. Minier-Contreras's Brief at 24. Indeed, this court has instructed law enforcement officials that where an officer has or should have doubts whether a detained suspect is in fact the person sought, the officer must make 'immediate reasonable efforts to confirm the suspect's identity.'  United States v. Valez, 796 F.2d 24, 27 (2d Cir.1986) (quoting United States v. Glover, 725 F.2d 120, 123 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 905, 104 S.Ct. 1682, 80 L.Ed.2d 157 (1984)), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1067, 107 S.Ct. 957, 93 L.Ed.2d 1005 (1987). 14 In this case, presentation of the suspects to the CI for the purpose of identifying perpetrators and releasing innocent persons was necessary. The fact that Johnson had previously identified the suspects did not render subsequent identification by the CI unnecessary. Unlike Johnson, the CI had several previous opportunities to observe the suspects. Further, unlike Johnson, the CI had several opportunities to observe the suspects who were within apartment 4F. Johnson, by contrast, observed these suspects only as they ran from the apartment during the raid. Although it turned out that the CI had not seen Minier-Contreras on any of his earlier visits to apartment 4F, at the time of the raid the arresting officers could not have known with certainty that the CI had not observed Minier-Contreras on any of his earlier visits. Given the CI's additional opportunities to observe the suspects, presentation of all nine people to the CI was an immediate reasonable effort[ ] to confirm the suspect's identity that is required under the law of this circuit. Under the circumstances, therefore, the presentation of the suspects to the CI was necessary. 6 15 The fact that the suspects were handcuffed, in the custody of law enforcement officers, and illuminated by flashlights also did not render the pre-trial identification procedure unnecessarily suggestive. In this case, handcuffs, custody, and flashlights were all necessary incidents of an on-the-scene identification immediately following a night-time narcotics raid. Because the on-the-scene identification was necessary to allow the officers to release the innocent, the incidents of that identification were also necessary. Similarly, an officer attending the identification must, in some way, signal his fellows whether a particular detainee has been identified as a suspect or not. Under the circumstances of this case, therefore, Johnson's statements made after the CI identified each suspect did not render the identification procedure unnecessarily suggestive. 16 Minier-Contreras also contends that a photo array that was shown to the CI prior to trial was impermissibly suggestive in that the photograph of Minier-Contreras was brighter and somewhat more close-up than the other five photographs in the array. We have examined the photo array at issue in this case. While it is true that the photograph of Minier-Contreras is slightly brighter and slightly more close-up than the others, we find that these differences did not render the array suggestive. Each photograph depicts a man in a frontal mug-shot. Each is in color. Each of the men depicted is of roughly the same age and coloring. Finally, each of the men depicted sports a moustache. The differences complained of by Minier-Contreras would hardly suggest to an identifying witness that [the defendant] was more likely to be the culprit. United States v. Archibald, 734 F.2d 938, 940 (2d Cir.1984); see United States v. Magnotti, 454 F.2d 1140, 1141-1142 (2d Cir.1972). 17 We find that the pre-trial identification procedure and the photo array were not unnecessarily suggestive. 7 We therefore affirm the district court's determination that the pre-trial identification testimony was admissible.