Opinion ID: 772680
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Police identification of Finley

Text: 13 Before trial, Finley moved for a hearing under United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218 (1967) to determine whether the identification procedure employed by the Rochester police was so overly suggestive as to deny him due process. Finley emphasizes that Officer Alvarado, who admitted to being near-sighted during his testimony, identified Finley at night from a distance of approximately 50 feet. Without requiring an evidentiary hearing, the district judge found that the affidavit of the government was sufficient to establish the circumstance under which the identification was made, and contained enough facts to establish the reliability of the identification. The judge adhered to this ruling at trial. Finley argues to us that the court erred in admitting the identification evidence and that, at a minimum, he was entitled to a suppression hearing. 14 We review a district court's determination of the admissibility of identification evidence for clear error, United States v. Mohammed, 27 F.3d 815, 821 (2d Cir. 1994), and the decision not to hold an evidentiary hearing for abuse of discretion. United States v. Martinez, 151 F.3d 68, 74 (2d Cir. 1998). 15 We find that the district court did not clearly err in deciding that the identification procedure used in this case had sufficient indicia of reliability to satisfy due process. See United States v. Bautista, 23 F.3d 726, 729 (2d Cir. 1994) (identification excluded only where it is so unnecessarily suggestive and conducive to irreparable mistaken identification that [the defendant] was denied due process of law.). When Officer Alvarado first observed Finley during the cocaine transaction the two were about three feet apart. The subsequent identification occurred less than 10 minutes later. Although it was made at night from a distance of approximately 50 feet, Finley was illuminated both by streetlights and a flashlight. On these facts, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Finley's request for an evidentiary hearing.