Opinion ID: 1941856
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Lineups and Identifications

Text: Poole was arraigned on August 9, 1990. At that time, according to Poole's suppression motion filed below, the court issued a lineup order for August 29, 1990. Poole's counsel objected to the date because of a conflict. On August 27 and 28, Poole's counsel contacted police detectives to inform them of the conflict. According to Poole's counsel, the detectives said that they would attempt either to schedule a different lineup for the same time or to obtain substitute counsel. When Poole's counsel called again on August 29, he was unable to reach the detectives, but he did ascertain that Poole's lineup was to go forward. At the last minute, Poole's counsel managed to obtain substitute counsel, but only in time for this substitute to be present as the last two witnesses (out of a total of fifteen) viewed the lineup. According to the government's brief, Showell was arraigned on February 5, 1990, in connection with another hair salon robbery that had taken place on January 19, 1990not the robbery for which she was convicted. At that time, the magistrate signed an order compelling Showell and her counsel to appear for a lineup on February 15, 1990, as a condition of her release. For whatever reason, however, Showell's counsel did not appear on February 15. Appellants moved to suppress all identification testimony based upon these lineups, arguing that the lineups were (1) improperly suggestive, thereby violating their Fifth Amendment rights to due process, and (2) conducted in the absence of counsel, thereby violating their Sixth Amendment rights. [21] The trial court denied appellants' motions, finding that the lineups were not improperly suggestive, that the government had given counsel adequate notice of the lineups, that consequently it was not the government's fault that appellants were not represented by counsel, and that appellants had in any case failed to show prejudice. [22] At trial, the government played for the jury a videotape of Poole's lineup, in which one witness, Michelle Coats, identified Poole as the armed robber. Two other witnesses attended Poole's lineup: Ron Oliphant, who had earlier identified Poole in the street at Ridge Road, and Michele Mitchell. Oliphant testified that he had identified Poole at the lineup. Mitchell testified that she had told the police that she could not identify anyone at the lineup but that later she had picked out Poole from a photo of the lineup, although she was not one hundred percent sure of her identification. Six other witnesses testified that they had identified Poole from the lineup photo. As for Showell, one witness, Marjorie McCoy, testified that she had identified Showell as the robber's accomplice at a lineup, while four others testified that they had identified Showell from a photograph of this lineup.