Opinion ID: 476844
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Hyland's Pretrial Identifications of Jarrett

Text: 9 More than two years later, police matched a latent fingerprint, lifted from the tape that had been used to bind the slain attendant, with that of Billy Kelly. In December 1975, New York State Police Investigator John Ingraham went to Hyland's home and showed him two groups of photographs. From the first array, of males, Hyland selected two pictures, both of Billy Kelly, as the man who sold him gas at the Seaway station on August 11, 1973. 10 Ingraham then gave Hyland a dozen photographs of females. Three bore the notation New York State Police, one the notation NY STA, and the one of Jarrett, Sheriff's Department. The other seven bore no markings. Hyland initially selected two photographs, the one of Jarrett and one of the three photographs bearing a New York State Police legend, and eventually settled on the photograph of Jarrett as the driver of the other car at the Seaway station on August 11, 1973. 11 In March 1976, Hyland testified before the grand jury. He stated that the driver of the other car at the gas station was combing her hair in the car and looked like a female. Shown the picture of Jarrett, Hyland testified: 12 A. Well, I can't say positive about this, about the way--it was the same style, long hair. 13 Q. Is it safe to say then that the best you can say is that it could be the girl but you can't say for sure? 14 A. Yes. 15 Following the grand jury's indictment, Jarrett moved to preclude the State from offering an in-court identification of her by Hyland at trial, on the ground that the identification procedures used by the police had been unduly suggestive. In February 1977, a Wade hearing, see United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967), was held in State Supreme Court, at which Jarrett was present at the counsel table. Hyland testified that the other car at the gas station had been driven by a woman. He described the process of his selection of Jarrett's picture from among those shown him by Ingraham in December 1975, stating that he had initially selected two photos and then narrowed his choice to one. He testified that he had selected the one photo as possibly being the female that was in the car at the gas station, but that he still thought that both of the photos he had initially selected looked like the driver. 16 He testified that Ingraham had given him the photographs in a pile and had not suggested which he should select or otherwise engaged him in conversation about the photos, even after he had made his selection. He said that he may have observed the New York State Police and Sheriff's Department markings on four photographs and that I figured it was police pictures, but did not have the markings in mind, at all.... I was more concerned with the picture. 17 On cross-examination, in response to Jarrett's counsel's inquiry as to whether he could describe the woman in the car, Hyland stated: 18 A. Yes. It was a question whether I was going to be served first with the gasoline or the girl. And this girl had long, darker hair, it seemed, than the one that's right there, now. 19 Q. Darker than the one right there, right now, you're referring to who? 20 A. That girl, right, there. 21 Q. At the Defense table? 22 A. Yes. 23 Following the Wade hearing, the state court denied Jarrett's motion to preclude Hyland's identification testimony, holding that the photographic identification procedures had not create[d] a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification:[Hyland] observed ... Jarrett under favorable lighting conditions at close range, for a sufficient length of time and under such conditions as to make an impression upon him. The series of photographs of persons having approximately the same physical characteristics do not contain any element of suggestiveness, nor were any suggestive statements made to him by Investigator Ingraham. In response to a question as to certain photographs bearing police notations, the witness said he thought at the time that all the photographs were police shots. 24 The court also pointed out that Hyland testified he could see [Jarrett] sitting in the car and that at the time her hair was darker than in the courtroom, and noted that in a companion hearing there had been evidence that Jarrett had worn her hair longer and dyed darker in August 1973 than it was in March 1976.