Opinion ID: 1968645
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Chance Encounter

Text: In a related claim defendant argues that Loynds's in-court identification of him was tainted because of the cumulative impact of the suggestive photographic array and the courthouse encounter that occurred between him and Loynds during the suppression hearing. Because we have already concluded that the photographic array was not suggestive, we shall limit our analysis to the courthouse confrontation. Apparently during the suppression hearing held on September 7, 1995, defendant was brought to the courtroom at a time when Loynds was present in the corridor. The following day defendant brought the encounter to the attention of the trial justice, stating that it was a mistake to have had him escorted to the courtroom in front of Loynds. Defense counsel then explained to the trial justice that while she, the prosecutor, and the trial justice were in conference, defendant passed Loynds in the hallway on his way into the courtroom. The prosecutor claimed that he was unaware of the alleged confrontation but was curious how defendant knew it was Loynds he had passed in the corridor and not some other individual. In response, the trial justice noted that defense counsel's request to sequester defendant was not made until the conference was underway and that as soon as practicable marshals escorted defendant back downstairs. After considering defendant's concerns, the trial justice stated that the chance encounter did not alter his determination that Loynds's identification of him was admissible. On appeal defendant contends that the trial justice erred by not questioning Loynds and the police officer involved for the purpose of determining whether the encounter was accidental or contrived. [2] However defendant did not request such an examination, nor did he contend that the encounter was orchestrated by improper state conduct. Further, he failed to move to suppress the identification on this basis. In fact the record suggests that all the parties involved, including defendant, viewed the incident as mere happenstance. It is well settled that an accidental encounter between a witness and a defendant that is not contrived by the police or the prosecution will not mandate suppression of the witness's subsequent in-court identification. State v. Bertram, 591 A.2d 14, 26-27 (R.I.1991); State v. Pailin, 576 A.2d 1384, 1389 (R.I.1990); State v. Manocchio, 497 A.2d 1, 11 (R.I.1985). This is especially true when clear and convincing evidence exists that the in-court identification was based upon sufficient independent recollection of the event. State v. Porraro, 121 R.I. 882, 886, 404 A.2d 465, 468 (1979) (in-court identification admissible if witness's recollection is independent of flawed out-of-court identification); accord State v. DeMasi, 118 R.I. 494, 498, 374 A.2d 806, 808-09 (1977). The record in this instance indicates that Loynds spontaneously observed defendant while waiting in a corridor filled with people, and not a scintilla of evidence exists to suggest that the actions of the police or of the prosecution impermissibly influenced Loynds's identifications. See, e.g., Bertram, 591 A.2d at 25-26; Pailin, 576 A.2d at 1389; Manocchio, 497 A.2d at 11. On the contrary, Loynds initially identified defendant from a fairly constituted photographic array six days after the robbery and approximately nine months before the corridor confrontation. Further, we have previously concluded that Loynds's identification of defendant clearly rests on a basis independent of any allegedly improper state conduct. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial justice did not err in denying defendant's motion to suppress Loynds's in-court identification.