Opinion ID: 15662
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: did lineup taint the in-court identification?

Text: 58 Charles Mitchell, a Subway employee, later identified both McCray and Chopane as the men who robbed his store. McCray and Chopane now challenge the district court's decision to admit his identification testimony. 59 Whether identification evidence is admissible at trial is a mixed question of law and fact subject to de novo review, but the district court's underlying factual findings are reviewed for clear error. See United States v. Fletcher, 121 F.3d 187, 194 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 640, 139 L.Ed.2d 618 (1997). 60 The admissibility of eyewitness identification at trial following a pretrial identification from a photo lineup is governed by a two-step analysis. First, we ask whether the lineup was impermissibly suggestive; second, if it was so suggestive, we consider whether the lineup led to a substantial likelihood of a misidentification. See Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 384, 88 S.Ct. 967, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968). 61
62 Before Mitchell participated in the photo lineup, he indicated that one of the robbers wore a Starter jacket. Chopane was the only person in the lineup photos wearing such a jacket. Further, Chopane's picture, unlike the others, was taped over another picture. Given the combination of these two factors, it is possible that the lineup could have impermissibly drawn Mitchell's attention to Chopane's picture. 63 Assuming that Chopane's lineup was impermissibly suggestive, we must next determine whether Mitchell's resulting identification was unreliable. In assessing the second step of the test, this court looks to six factors to determine whether an impermissibly suggestive lineup led to a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. We consider: 1) the opportunity of the witness to view the criminal; 2) the witness's degree of attention; 3) the accuracy of the pre-identification description; 4) the witness's level of certainty; 5) the elapsed time between the crime and the identification; and 6) the corrupting influence of the suggestive identification. See United States v. Merkt, 794 F.2d 950, 958 (5th Cir.1986). 64 First, Mitchell was able to view the robber for a minute to a minute and a half in good lighting. Second, as the victim of the robbery, Mitchell's attention was drawn to the face of his assailant. Mitchell stated at the suppression hearing: You just don't forget a person that's pointed a gun at you. Third, Mitchell's pre-identification description of Chopane was accurate in part and inaccurate in part. Although reasonably close, Mitchell stated that Chopane was taller than he actually is. Fourth, Mitchell quickly and confidently identified Chopane when he viewed the lineup, and he has never wavered in his identification. Fifth, only three months passed between the crime and his identification, not a particularly long period of time. Finally, it is unlikely that the lineup had a corrupting influence on Mitchell's identification, as Mitchell was very confident in his incourt identification and testified to the fact that he did not rely upon the jacket that Chopane was wearing in identifying Chopane's photo. 65
66 As to the identification of McCray, the lineup was not impermissibly suggestive. The only complaint McCray has about his lineup was that his picture was in the second spot. McCray notes that the police told Mitchell to identify the second man who robbed him, which he interprets to be an instruction to Mitchell to pick the second photo in the lineup. McCray also complains that Chopane's picture had likewise been in the second spot. McCray's lineup was the second lineup attended by Mitchell; clearly, Mitchell understood the police's instruction to mean that he should pick the second man that had robbed him, not that he was to pick the photo in the second spot. We conclude that McCray has not established that his lineup was impermissibly suggestive. 67 We therefore conclude that the district court did not err in admitting Mitchell's trial identification of Chopane and McCray.