Opinion ID: 2114172
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Impermissibly suggestive in-court identification procedure

Text: Next, appellant challenges the impermissibly suggestive trial testimony of victim McDonald, who identified appellant as the gunman who shot him. Appellant attacks this identification testimony on several grounds, alleging that (1) McDonald's belief that appellant was the shooter was based not on his own perceptions but upon what other witnesses had told him after the incident; (2) McDonald's identification of appellant differed from earlier statements he had given that indicated that appellant's codefendant might have been the gunman; and (3) it was unfair to allow McDonald to describe his assailant in court while he could observe the appellant's physical description. Appellant's dispute with the in-court identification testimony of McDonald is also an argument that was known to the appellant at the time of direct appeal. At trial, appellant's counsel attempted on cross-examination to point out the inconsistencies with McDonald's previous statement to police regarding the shooter's identity. When McDonald made his in-court identification of appellant, and pointed to him, appellant's counsel told the court he had no objection to the state's request that the record reflect the fact that McDonald identified appellant. When challenging the sufficiency of the evidence on direct appeal, appellant argued that McDonald's identification of appellant might have been tainted by his contacts with other witnesses. Jones, 556 N.W.2d at 913. Therefore, this new attack against the admission of McDonald's in-court identification simply raises an issue both known and raised by appellant at the time of direct appeal and is procedurally barred. See Knaffla, 309 Minn. at 252, 243 N.W.2d at 741. [3]