Opinion ID: 1060886
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jury instruction eyewitness identification

Text: The defendant asserts that the instruction given the jury in this case regarding eyewitness identification was inadequate. In support of his claim, he relies upon this Court's decision in State v. Dyle, 899 S.W.2d 607 (Tenn. 1995), rendered after the trial of this case. In Dyle , this Court adopted a new jury instruction, which must be given whenever identification is a material issue. [6] Id. at 612. The instruction, which requires the jury to evaluate the evidence in light of several explicit factors, is set out below. One of the issues in this case is the identification of the defendant as the person who committed the crime. The state has the burden of proving identity beyond a reasonable doubt. Identification testimony is an expression of belief or impression by the witness, and its value may depend upon your consideration of several factors. Some of the factors which you may consider are: (1) The witness' capacity and opportunity to observe the offender. This includes, among other things, the length of time available for observation, the distance from which the witness observed, the lighting, and whether the person who committed the crime was a prior acquaintance of the witness; (2) The degree of certainty expressed by the witness regarding the identification and the circumstances under which it was made, including whether it is the product of the witness' own recollection; (3) The occasions, if any, on which the witness failed to make an identification of the defendant, or made an identification that was inconsistent with the identification at trial; and (4) The occasions, if any, on which the witness made an identification that was consistent with the identification at trial, and the circumstances surrounding such identifications. Again, the state has the burden of proving every element of the crime charged, and this burden specifically includes the identity of the defendant as the person who committed the crime for which he or she is on trial. If after considering the identification testimony in light of all the proof you have a reasonable doubt that the defendant is the person who committed the crime, you must find the defendant not guilty. Dyle, 899 S.W.2d at 612. With respect to the applicability of the rule adopted in Dyle , we stated as follows: this instruction must be given when identification is a material issue and it is requested by defendant's counsel. Failure to give this instruction under these circumstances will be plain error. If identification is a material issue and the defendant does not request the instruction, failure to give it will be reviewable under a Rule 52 harmless error standard. This ruling is applicable to cases now on appeal and to those cases tried after the release of this opinion. Id. This case was tried before the issuance of the decision in Dyle , but was pending on appeal at the time of its release. Accordingly, the rule announced in Dyle applies to this case, and we must determine whether the trial court's failure to give the Dyle instruction is harmless or prejudicial error. Tenn. R.Crim. P. 52(a) (No judgment of conviction shall be reversed on appeal except for errors which affirmatively appear to have affected the result of the trial on the merits.) The defendant contends that the error is prejudicial because the instruction actually given, unlike the Dyle instruction, did not inform jurors that identification testimony is an expression of belief or impression by the witness, and did not instruct the jurors to consider occasions on which the eyewitness failed to make an identification. Id. at 612. The defendant argues that the failure to give the Dyle instruction may have affected the verdict in this case since the eyewitness, Harris, initially had stated that he could not identify anyone nor provide a description because the assailants had been wearing ski masks. The State concedes that the failure to give the instruction was error, but argues the Court of Criminal Appeals correctly held the error harmless since the failure to give the Dyle instruction does not affirmatively appear to have affected the outcome of this trial. With respect to identity, the trial court in this case charged the jury as follows: The Court charges you that the identity of the defendant, Perry A. Cribbs, must be proven in the case on the part of the State to your satisfaction beyond a reasonable doubt. In other words, the burden of proof is on the State to show that the defendant now on trial before you is the identical person who committed the alleged crime with which he is charged. In considering the question of the identity of a person, the Jury may take into consideration the means and opportunity of identification, if any; whether it was light or dark; the distance intervening; the dress or clothing worn; the character and color of same; the size, height, and color of the individual; whether known to him, and if so, how long, and if seen before, under what circumstances; whether running or moving rapidly, standing still, walking fast or slow at the time claimed to the person testifying; the color of the hair; hat worn; facial expression or features and appearance; whether with or without moustache and beard; whether person said to be identified was white, black, dark, yellow, or light color; masked or not; the voice and speech. All these things when shown in the proof may be considered by the Jury in determining the question of identity. The word identity means the state or quality of being identical, or the same; it means sameness. Identification means the act of identifying or proving to be the same. The word Identify means to establish the identity or to prove to be the same as something described, claimed or asserted. The Court charges you that if you are satisfied from the whole proof in this case, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant Perry A. Cribbs, committed the crime charged against him, and you are satisfied, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he has been identified as the person who committed the crime charged, then it would be your duty to convict him. On the other hand, if you are not satisfied with the identity from the proof, or you have a reasonable doubt as to whether he has been identified from the whole body of the proof in the case, then you should return a verdict of not guilty. Considering the totality of the instruction actually given, and the proof in light of the factors delineated in Dyle , we conclude that the failure to give the Dyle instruction does not affirmatively appear to have affected the outcome of this case. The jury was instructed to consider the means and opportunity of identification, including the distance, lighting, and whether the perpetrator was known to the eyewitness. Though not verbatim, this sufficiently encompassed the instruction with respect to the first Dyle factor so that prejudicial error does not result. Moreover, the proof clearly established that Harris observed the perpetrator for approximately thirty seconds, from a distance of less than five feet, with a light from the carport illuminating the perpetrator's features. The perpetrator wore a stocking mask, and was a stranger to Mr. Harris. With respect to the second Dyle factor, the proof is clear that Harris expressed certainty of his identification of Cribbs during a photographic lineup which occurred within six weeks of the crime. Officer McWilliams said that Harris was visibly shaken and emotional when he first observed the photograph of the defendant. Moreover, the photographic lineup does not appear to have been suggestive. With respect to the third Dyle factor, the proof shows that Harris selected only the photograph of the defendant even though he previously had been presented with two other photographic lineups. However, Harris had been unable to give the police any description of the assailant immediately after the shooting, and police reports reflected that Harris had said the perpetrators had been wearing black ski masks. However, later descriptions given to police by Harris of the perpetrator's facial features, height, and weight matched the defendant. At trial, Harris explained that he had been seriously injured and receiving treatment and sedatives, either in the ambulance or at the hospital, when he had given the initial descriptions. The jury obviously accepted this explanation of the discrepancies. With respect to the fourth factor, the proof shows that Harris positively identified the defendant from a valid photographic lineup. Harris also positively identified the defendant later at trial. Because the instructions given the jury in this case closely resembled the instructions required by Dyle , and because the proof with regard to each of the factors delineated by Dyle was plainly established, we agree with the Court of Criminal Appeals conclusion that the error was harmless. Failure to give the Dyle instruction does not affirmatively appear to have affected the verdict.