Opinion ID: 2498965
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Eyewitness Identification Instruction

Text: Over Anderson's objection, the district court issued the cautionary eyewitness identification instruction from PIK Crim.3d 52.20 without modification. The PIK instruction states: The law places the burden upon the State to identify the defendant. The law does not require the defendant to prove (he)(she) has been wrongly identified. In weighing the reliability of eyewitness identification testimony, you first should determine whether any of the following factors existed and, if so, the extent to which they would affect accuracy of identification by an eyewitness. Factors you may consider are: (1) The opportunity the witness had to observe. This includes any physical condition which could affect the ability of the witness to observe, the length of the time of observation, and any limitations on observation like an obstruction or poor lighting; (2) The emotional state of the witness at the time including that which might be caused by the use of a weapon or a threat of violence; (3) Whether the witness had observed the defendant on earlier occasions; (4) Whether a significant amount of time elapsed between the crime charged and any later identification; (5) Whether the witness ever failed to identify the defendant or made any inconsistent identification; (6) The degree of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the time of any identification of the accused; and (7) Whether there are any other circumstances that may have affected the accuracy of the eyewitness identification. (Emphasis added.) PIK Crim.3d 52.20. Anderson argues the district court should have changed the instruction by deleting the sixth degree of certainty factor because expressions of certainty by eyewitnesses have been criticized as unreliable by the scientific community. Anderson targets the testimony of Jones and Bryce Johnson with this argument because those witnesses, he contends, were very confident in their identifications.