Opinion ID: 1315014
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the pretrial identification

Text: Appellant next argues that Fleming Gunnoe's in-court identification of the appellant as being the man Gunnoe saw with the victim shortly before her murder was inadmissible because that identification was based on an impermissibly suggestive pretrial identification. This court has adopted a test for admissibility of such identification based on Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 93 S.Ct. 375, 34 L.Ed.2d 401 (1972): In determining whether an out-of-court identification of a defendant is so tainted as to require suppression of an in-court identification a court must look to the totality of the circumstances and determine whether the identification was reliable, even though the confrontation procedure was suggestive, with due regard given to such factors as the opportunity of the witness to view the criminal at the time of the crime, the witness' degree of attention, the witness' prior description of the criminal, the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the confrontation, and the length of time between the crime and the confrontation. Syl. pt. 3, State v. Casdorph, W.Va., 230 S.E.2d 476 (1976). Though this test has been fashioned for witnesses of a crime, it is also applicable to the witness in this case who saw the appellant with the victim shortly before her murder. The witness, Fleming Gunnoe, was able to view the appellant in broad daylight while the appellant walked with the victim across the street and during the short conversation the witness had with the victim. During this conversation the appellant was standing within just a few feet of the witness at all times. Given his intimate relationship with the victim, it can be assumed that the witness paid close attention to the victim's male companion, the appellant, during the encounter. The witness was able to give an accurate description by telling the police that the appellant had worn the yellow jump suit later found stained with blood in the trash can. He was also able to describe the appellant's approximate height and facial characteristics. In spite of rigorous cross-examination at trial Gunnoe maintained his certainty that it was the appellant he had seen with the victim. In light of these circumstances we find that Gunnoe's identification was reliable. Having found that the identification was reliable we must now balance that reliability against any impermissibly suggestive procedures used in the pretrial identification. Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977); State v. McNeal, W.Va., 251 S.E.2d 484 (1979). While we agree with the appellant that a line-up or photo identification would have been less suggestive than the identification at the preliminary hearing, we do not find that the shortcomings of that particular identification outweigh the factors contributing to its reliability. Recognizing that reliability is the linchpin in determining the admissibility of identification testimony, Manson v. Brathwaite, supra 432 U.S. at 114, 97 S.Ct. at 2253, we conclude that Gunnoe's in-court identification was admissible.