Opinion ID: 1834950
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: was wilson's right to counsel violated by his lineup identification?

Text: Ellis Ray Manuel had a face to face confrontation with Wilson in the Wig Shop after the murder of Mrs. Im. Wilson was displayed to Manuel as part of a five man lineup. Also present to view the lineup was Wilson's attorney, Doc Kellum. No objection was made to the manner in which the lineup was conducted. After viewing the array, Manuel was escorted from the viewing room to an adjacent hallway where he identified Wilson as the armed assailant from the wig shop on the day Mrs. Im was murdered. There was no objection to this procedure. While Kellum did not accompany Manuel and the police officers into the hallway, the record does not indicate that he was precluded from doing so. In the context of lineups we have held that an accused has the right to have his counsel present during the lineup. Magee v. State, 542 So.2d 228, 233 (Miss. 1989); Jimpson v. State, 532 So.2d 985, 989 (Miss. 1988); Nicholson v. State, 523 So.2d 68, 77 (Miss. 1988). In the same context, an accused does not enjoy the right to counsel during a photographic lineup. See Magee, 542 So.2d at 233; Nicholson, 523 So.2d at 71-72; Johnson v. State, 359 So.2d 1371, 1374 (Miss. 1978). See also, United States v. Ash, 413 U.S. 300, 321, 93 S.Ct. 2568, 2579, 37 L.Ed.2d 619 (1973). The post-viewing confrontation between Manuel and the police was not a confrontation between Wilson and the police. In Jimpson, 532 So.2d at 989, we specifically recognized that an accused enjoys the right to counsel at a lineup. We now hold that only an actual confrontation with the defendant at a lineup is the critical stage which requires the right to counsel. Wilson was not present at the post-lineup encounter between Manuel and the police and there was no actual confrontation between Wilson and the witness. Therefore, the presence of counsel is not required. We note that counsel for the defendant did not request a post viewing interview with Manuel. This assignment of error is without merit.