Opinion ID: 487491
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Photo Spread

Text: 19 Ricks contends that the district court erred by ruling that the photo spread was not impermissibly suggestive. Ricks wears glasses, and the photo spread included photographs of six males, all of the same race, only one of whom wore eyeglasses. Ricks alleges that the witness's later in-court identification of him was influenced by the witness's initial viewing of this photo spread in which no one wore glasses except him. 20 The government contends that the photo spread was not impermissibly suggestive and did not lead to a substantial likelihood of misidentification. The government emphasizes that the witness testified that she was not very far from where Ricks was standing during the bank robbery, that she observed him for at least a full minute, and that he was wearing sunglasses as opposed to eyeglasses. Ricks did not wear eyeglasses during the trial. 21 The in-court identification occurred nearly four months after the witness's identification of Ricks in the photo spread. Thus, even if the photo spread were suggestive, it is highly unlikely that the witness's selection of Ricks from the photo spread caused a mistaken identification. The witness testified that because of her opportunity to observe Ricks during the bank robbery, looking at the photographs did not affect her in-court identification. In light of the four-month period between the photo spread and the in-court identification, and considering the fact that Ricks did not wear eyeglasses during the trial, we do not find the photo spread impermissibly suggestive. 22 Although we do not find the photo spread in this case to be too suggestive, and although we would find any error on this issue harmless on this record as a whole, that is not to say that we approve of this practice. Prosecutors and law enforcement agents must guard against this type of photo spread. Likewise, the government's argument that the witness testified that her in-court identification sprang forth from the encounter in the bank rather than from the photo spread is a fact specific inquiry which carries an inherent risk of error.