Opinion ID: 6972191
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Was the in-court identification testimony sufficiently reliable under the totality of the circumstances?

Text: “Should we find a pretrial procedure impermissibly suggestive, automatic exclusion of identification testimony is not required.” Bagley, 772 F.2d at 492 (citing Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 113-14, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977); and Biggers, 409 U.S. at 198-99, 93 S.Ct. 375). “If under the totality of the circumstances the identification is sufficiently reliable, identification testimony may properly be allowed into evidence even if the identification was made pursuant to an unnecessarily suggestive procedure.” Id. The factors we consider in deciding whether in-court identification testimony is sufficiently reliable are: (1) the witness’s opportunity to view the defendant at the time of the incident; (2) the witness’s degree of attention; (3) the accuracy of the witness’s prior description of the defendant; (4) the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the time of the identification procedure; and (5) the length of time between the incident and the identification. See Biggers, 409 U.S. at 199-200, 93 S.Ct. 375; United States v. Jones, 84 F.3d 1206, 1209-10 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 117 S.Ct. 405, 136 L.Ed.2d 319 (1996). Blondín had ample opportunity to view Montgomery at the time Montgomery purchased the red phosphorous. Furthermore, because the large order for a key methamphetamine ingredient raised Blondin’s suspicions, he made a point of gaining a detailed description of the purchaser. This description was later recorded by Blondín and faxed to the RCMP. The district court found that this description was “accurate.” One year later, when presented with photos of Marks, McClain, and Montgomery, Blondín was able to make a positive identification of Montgomery as the purchaser. We conclude that Blondin’s in-court identification of Montgomery was sufficiently reliable as a matter of law, based on the factors set out in Biggers. See 409 U.S. at 199-200, 93 S.Ct. 375. Thus, the admission of Blon-diris in-eourt identification testimony was not a violation of due process. The unnecessarily suggestive pretrial identification procedures did not create a “substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.” Simmons, 390 U.S. at 384, 88 S.Ct. 967.