Opinion ID: 1448513
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The district court properly admitted lay opinion testimony regarding the identity of a person depicted on a surveillance videotape.

Text: At trial, the State wanted to ask Momot, Joseph, and Wysocki to identify the man in the videotaped surveillance which allegedly depicted Rossana inserting nails into the tires of Momot's car while it was parked in the garage of Momot's office. Rossana objected, arguing that such testimony would be unfairly prejudicial as it would be impossible for anyone in this universe [to] in good conscience identify the man in the video as Rossana. After the district judge reviewed the video outside the presence of the jury, he permitted witnesses to express their opinions as to the identity of the man in the video. Momot, Joseph, and Wysocki each watched the video in front of the jury and each unequivocally testified that the man depicted therein was Rossana. These witnesses claimed to have known Rossana at the time of the alleged criminal activity and testified that his appearance at trial differed substantially from the time when the video was taken in that Rossana had since lost about thirty pounds, cut his hair, and was now wearing glasses. Rossana then called a witness (a private investigator) who testified as to the poor quality of the video and the impossibility of identifying anyone from the video. Next, Rossana called a friend of fifty years to testify that he was unable to identify Rossana in the video. On appeal, Rossana argues that permitting the subjective testimony of Momot, Joseph, and Wysocki constituted reversible error, as it is the jury's exclusive responsibility to determine the ultimate issue of guilt or innocence. See Bennett v. State, 794 P.2d 879, 882 (Wyo.1990) (holding that lay witness opinion as to guilt of defendant inadmissible). The relevant Nevada rule mirrors Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 701. [3] Since Nevada has not specifically discussed the admissibility of opinion by a lay witness as to the identity of an individual in a surveillance videotape, federal law is instructive. There is a plethora of federal jurisprudence holding that lay witnesses' opinion testimony is admissible where it identifies the defendant as the perpetrator of a crime from a surveillance video. United States v. Saniti, 604 F.2d 603, 604-05 (9th Cir.1979). Generally, a lay witness may testify regarding the identity of a person depicted in a surveillance photograph `if there is some basis for concluding that the witness is more likely to correctly identify the defendant from the photograph than is the jury.' United States v. Towns, 913 F.2d 434, 445 (7th Cir.1990) (quoting United States v. Farnsworth, 729 F.2d 1158, 1160 (8th Cir. 1984)). In United States v. Barrett, 703 F.2d 1076, 1086 (9th Cir.1983), the Ninth Circuit concluded that the opinion testimony of a lay witness would be particularly appropriate where the witness was familiar with the defendant at the time of the crime and the defendant's appearance had changed by the time of trial. Additionally, in United States v. Jackman, 48 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.1995), the court held that testimony given by the defendant's ex-wife, identifying him in a poor quality bank surveillance photograph (in which his face was partially obstructed), was permissible. The Jackman court stated that [h]uman features develop in the mind's eye over time. These [lay] witnesses had interacted with defendants in a way the jury could not, and in natural settings that gave them a greater appreciation of defendants' normal appearance. Id. However, the Jackman court would not allow such testimony where a photograph is deemed so hopelessly obscure that the witness is no better-suited than the jury to make the identification. Id. We conclude that federal case law, in conjunction with Nevada's adoption of the federal evidence rules governing opinion testimony of lay witnesses, mandates that Rossana's claim must fail. Moreover, Rossana effectively diluted any possible prejudice in calling witnesses to contradict the three witnesses' testimony. The jury could see the quality of the videotape and presumably could judge the credibility of those witnesses' assertions about the video. Therefore, we conclude that Rossana's arguments on this issue are meritless.