Opinion ID: 1891504
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mr. Montz's Identification of Simmons' Vehicle

Text: Mr. Montz's identification of Simmons' vehicle did not occur until a year after he initially described to Detective Perdue the car he witnessed, when Detective Perdue showed him a videotape of Simmons' car. Mr. Montz then identified the car without any hesitancy or uncertainty, and stated that he was sure it was the same car because of its color, the number of doors, the spoked rims, the amount of dirt, and its two dents. He also recalled the flag hanging from the car's window. [16] The trial court found that when applying the Neil factors, the lapse in time between when Mr. Montz initially saw the car and when he was able to identify it would weigh in favor of finding that there [was] a substantial likelihood of misidentification. However, the trial court held that after examining the totality of the circumstances, there existed no substantial likelihood for misidentification. First, as with Ms. Renfro, we conclude that Detective Perdue's showing Mr. Montz a videotape of only one vehicle constituted an unduly suggestive identification procedure under the first prong of the out-of-court identification analysis. Further, we agree with the trial court that the length of time that passed between Mr. Montz's first viewing of the car and his identification of it a year later could result in a substantial likelihood of misidentification. However, considering the other Neil factors, we conclude that the trial court did not err in finding that Simmons has not satisfied the second prong of the test for whether a suggestive identification should be excluded. First, Mr. Montz had an adequate opportunity to view the car the night he witnessed it because the area was well lighted and there was nothing blocking his view. Second, Mr. Montz's degree of attention was high, judging from the accuracy of his description of the car, and his level of certainty was high as well.