Opinion ID: 2594735
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Instruction on Eyewitness Testimony

Text: The trial court gave the jury the standard instruction on the burden of proving identity based solely on eyewitness testimony. (CALJIC No. 2.91 (1982 rev.).) The instruction says that, in determining the weight to be given eyewitness testimony identifying the defendant, the jury should consider a number of factors bearing on the accuracy of the identification, including, but not limited to such matters as the witness's opportunity to observe, the stress to which the witness was subjected, and the cross-racial or ethnic nature of the identification. ( Ibid.) Defendant contends the trial court should on its own motion have added to the eyewitness identification instruction that the jury should consider the effects on recall of bias or improper cues in police identification procedures. We disagree. Nothing in CALJIC No. 2.91, the instruction given, prevents the parties from arguing any factors the jury should consider if supported by the evidence. Indeed, a number of instructions in addition to CALJIC No. 2.91 afforded defendant ample opportunity to challenge the validity of witness credibility and testimony. For instance, the jury here was given the standard instructions on witness credibility (CALJIC No. 2.20), discrepancies in testimony (CALJIC No. 2.21), weighing conflicting testimony (CALJIC No. 2.22), sufficiency of testimony of one witness (CALJIC No. 2.27), and reasonable doubt (CALJIC No. 2.90). The trial court did not err in failing to add to CALJIC No. 2.91 any language that the jury should consider the effects of recall or improper cues in police identification. ( People v. Alcala (1992) 4 Cal.4th 742, 803, 15 Cal. Rptr.2d 432, 842 P.2d 1192.) Because the instructions given were adequate and the parties were free to argue to the jury the factors it could consider in evaluating eyewitness identification testimony, defense counsel did not render ineffective representation in not requesting the instruction in question.