Opinion ID: 2183753
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the in-court identifications

Text: The appellate court decided that the in-court identifications of the defendants by Buckle and Harris had to be excluded whether or not those identifications had a source independent of the uncounseled lineups because, the court reasoned, the in-court identifications were tainted by references to the lineup and lineup photographs. This conclusion misreads the Supreme Court's decision in Gilbert ; there the court explicitly held that while testimony concerning the uncounseled lineup identifications had to be excluded, the in-court identifications could be admitted if the State established by clear and convincing evidence that they had an independent basis. Gilbert v. California (1967), 388 U.S. 263, 272-73, 18 L.Ed.2d 1178, 1186, 87 S.Ct. 1951, 1956-57. In this case, the independent-basis inquiry need only be undertaken with respect to Buckle's in-court identifications since the question only arises when an unconstitutional pretrial identification intervenes between the crime and the in-court testimony. In view of our conclusion that Harris' identifications from the lineup photographs were constitutionally unobjectionable, it follows that her in-court identifications were properly admitted. To decide whether Buckle's in-court identifications had an origin independent of the uncounseled lineups, several factors must be considered, including the prior opportunity to observe the alleged criminal act, the existence of any discrepancy between any pre-lineup description and the defendant's actual description, any identification prior to lineup of another person, the identification by picture of the defendant prior to the lineup, failure to identify the defendant on a prior occasion, and the lapse of time between the alleged act and the lineup identification. United States v. Wade (1967), 388 U.S. 218, 241, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149, 1165, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 1940. The independent-basis determination can be made by a reviewing court where the record permits an informed judgment ( United States v. Anderson (7th Cir.1983), 714 F.2d 684, 687; People v. Davis (1970), 45 Ill.2d 514, 517; see, e.g., People v. McDonald (1975), 62 Ill.2d 448; People v. Fox (1971), 48 Ill.2d 239), and the court may find a sufficient alternative foundation for the in-court identification even where a small number of these factors are present. ( United States v. Anderson (7th Cir.1983), 714 F.2d 684, 686.) The record in this case allows an informed judgment, and evaluation of the Wade factors demonstrates convincingly that Buckle's in-court identifications were based on his observations during the robbery, not on seeing the defendants at the uncounseled lineups. The first Wade factor, the opportunity to observe the incident, strongly suggests an independent basis for the identifications. Between 15 and 30 minutes elapsed from the time the robbers entered the store to the time they shut the employees in the storage room. There was excellent fluorescent lighting throughout the store. Although Buckle was not able to view either perpetrator for the entire time, he had ample opportunity to see both. Buckle observed both looking at merchandise and asked the person he later identified as Ryder whether he could help him. At that point, Buckle and Ryder were standing toe to toe. He was also able to see Ryder from 20 feet away when Ryder pulled a gun on Kinnie, and later when he walked to the front of the store where the cash registers were located. Buckle's chance to view the other robber was only slightly more limited. After the robbers announced a stickup, the person Buckle identified as Curtis put a gun to his back and followed him first to the back of the store and then to the various places where money was kept. However, Buckle did see Curtis before the robbery was announced, as well as when Curtis subsequently stood between Buckle and the other employees holding a gun on them. He testified that he had occasion to confront Curtis face to face. The descriptions of the two robbers which Buckle gave to the police closely matched the defendants' actual descriptions. Buckle told the police that one of the robbers was a white male in his fifties, five-eleven or six feet in height, heavyset (by which he testified that he meant 200 to 210 pounds), with gray or salt-and-pepper hair. At the time of his arrest 19 months later, Ryder was 55 years old, six feet tall, weighed 200 pounds, and had gray hair. Buckle's description of the other suspect was that he was black, approximately six feet tall, weighed 215 pounds and had slightly reddish hair. According to the arrest report, Curtis is black, six-two, weighs 230 pounds, and has brown hair. The contention by defendants that these descriptions were too vague to be useful is plainly without merit. At issue is not whether the witness has offered a description which points only to the accused but whether significant discrepancies existed between the actual descriptions and those initially given to the police. Although tape-measure accuracy is not required, that is essentially what Buckle provided. No substantial discrepancy existed between the descriptions. The next three Wade factors concern prelineup identifications by the witness. An in-court identification is more likely to have a source independent of an uncounseled lineup if the witness identified the defendant on a prior occasion, never identified anyone else, and never failed to identify the defendant when given the opportunity to make an identification. Buckle was first presented with an array of 10 pictures, including one of Ryder, by the fire department inspector. Buckle initially selected Ryder's picture, saying something to the effect of this looks like the man. Although he subsequently chose two other pictures as possibilities, Buckle was more positive about Ryder's picture. Buckle later made a tentative identification of Ryder from an array of five photos presented to him by police officers, adding that he would have to see Ryder in person to be sure. Ryder contends that Buckle's failure to make a positive identification prior to the lineup demonstrates that no independent source for the in-court identification existed. This argument ignores the limitation of photographic identifications: as defense counsel himself brought out on cross-examination, at least part of Buckle's uncertainty resulted from the fact that he could not determine the defendant's height and weight from the pictures. While the witness' degree of certainty in making the photographic identification is relevant, the lack of certainty does not overcome the fact that Buckle in fact chose Ryder's picture at both opportunities he had to make the identification. It is true that Buckle tentatively selected two other possible suspects (of which he was less positive than Ryder) from the photo array presented to him by the fire department inspector. Although this fact is entitled to some weight, on balance we believe that Buckle's pre-lineup identifications of Ryder indicate that he would have been able to identify Ryder in court even if no lineup had been held. Buckle saw only one photo array of possible black suspects, and there is some dispute whether he was able to identify Curtis' picture. Buckle testified that he told the police that the picture of Curtis resembled the robber. However, an officer called at the suppression hearing stated that to the best of his recollection Buckle made no identification from the photographs and noted that the picture of Curtis was taken some four years before the robbery and was blurred. Buckle did not identify anyone else in the array. In light of the conflicting evidence and the defects of the photograph used, the prelineup identification factors neither favor nor negate the independence of the in-court identification in Curtis' case. The final Wade factor, upon which the defendants principally rely, is the lapse of time between the incident and the lineup. In this case, the lineup was held 19 months after the robbery; clearly the delay here is a seriously negative factor ( Neil v. Biggers (1972), 409 U.S. 188, 201, 34 L.Ed.2d 401, 412, 93 S.Ct. 375, 383). However, we do not think it is a dispositive one, especially considering the excellent opportunity which Buckle had to observe the crime and the accuracy of his descriptions of the suspects. Defendants in effect urge us to announce a rule that an in-court identification can never be independent of a lineup which occurs a significant time after the event. Our experience rejects such a rule. We conclude that a balancing of the Wade factors demonstrates that Buckle's in-court identifications were based on his observations at the time of the robbery, not what he saw at the lineups. Thus, his in-court identifications of both defendants were admissible.