Opinion ID: 2463714
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: witness identifications

Text: The police showed the witnesses to the bank robbery an array of six photographs, which included a photograph of Dillingham. Dillingham moved the trial court to suppress any witness identifications derived from the photo array. After an extensive suppression hearing, the trial court found that the array was not unduly suggestive and denied the motion. A conviction based on identification testimony following pretrial identification violates the defendant's constitutional right to due process whenever the pretrial identification procedure is so `impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.' Thigpen v. Cory, 804 F.2d 893, 895 (6th Cir. 1986), cert. denied sub nom. Foltz v. Thigpen, 482 U.S. 918, 107 S.Ct. 3196, 96 L.Ed.2d 683 (1987), quoting Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 384, 88 S.Ct. 967, 971, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968). The determination of whether the in-trial use of identification testimony violates due process involves a two-step process. Id. First, the court examines the pre-identification encounters to determine whether they were unduly suggestive. Id. If so, the identification may still be admissible if `under the totality of the circumstances the identification was reliable even though the [identification] procedure was suggestive. Stewart v. Duckworth, 93 F.3d 262, 265 (7th Cir. 1996), quoting Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 199, 93 S.Ct. 375, 382, 34 L.Ed.2d 401 (1972). In the case at bar, the trial court determined that the photo array was not unduly suggestive and, thus, it never reached the second step of the test. The trial court noted that it is clearly apparent that all six photographs are similar. The individuals in each photo are not only physically similar but are also clearly in custody. We have reviewed the photographs and agree with the trial court's assessment. Further, the trial court noted that the photograph of Dillingham does not include any information regarding the crime charged or the date of the crime. Dillingham's argument on appeal that he is displayed more prominently in his photograph than the persons in the other photographs is not persuasive. Nor is his argument that the other persons depicted in the photo array are substantially dissimilar to him in appearance. There was no error.