Opinion ID: 1102409
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: federal circuits

Text: There is a division of authority among the federal circuits on this issue. Consistent with Florida case law, the First and Ninth Circuits have precluded expert testimony on the reliability of eyewitness identifications. See United States v. Christophe, 833 F.2d 1296 (9th Cir.1987); United States v. Fosher, 590 F.2d 381 (1st Cir.1979). In United States v. Downing, 753 F.2d 1224 (3d Cir.1985), the defendant was convicted of mail fraud, wire fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property. The government's case against Downing rested almost exclusively on the testimony of eyewitnesses who, with varying degrees of certainty, testified that Downing was the man they knew as Reverend Claymore. Id. at 1227. When Downing moved to present expert testimony on the unreliability of eyewitness testimony, the trial court denied his motion because, among other reasons, the court feared that the expert's opinion would usurp the function of the jury. Id. at 1228. On appeal, the Third Circuit, finding that this type of testimony can satisfy the helpfulness test of [Federal Rule of Evidence] 702, [9] id. at 1230, vacated Downing's conviction and remanded for an evidentiary hearing on the admissibility of the proffered testimony. Id. at 1244; see also United States v. Stevens, 935 F.2d 1380, 1384 (3d Cir.1991) (finding abuse of discretion in trial court's refusal to permit expert testimony on lack of correlation between confidence and accuracy in eyewitness identifications). [10]