Opinion ID: 2973137
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reliability of Witness Identification

Text: The main issue at trial centered around the identity of the Caucasian assailant. Accordingly, eye witness testimony was critical. George claims on appeal that the photographic array was so unreliable as to violate his Fifth Amendment right to due process.3 He takes issue with the inclusion of his mug shot in the array as well as how Detective Flowers administered the array. In analyzing the district court’s ruling on George’s pretrial motion to suppress, we review its factual findings for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo. United States v. Meyer, 359 F.3d 820, 824 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 125 S. Ct. 112 (2004) (citing United States v. Dotson, 49 F.3d 227, 229 (6th Cir. 1995)). “Whether identification evidence was ‘sufficiently reliable so as not to offend appellant’s rights under the due process clause’ is a question of law.” Id. (quoting Smith v. Perini, 723 F.2d 478, 481 (6th Cir. 1983)). To maintain his due process claim, George must show that the identification procedure was so “impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.” Thigpen v. Cory, 804 F.2d 893, 895 (6th Cir. 1986) (quoting Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 384 (1968)). We rely on a two-step analysis to determine whether such likelihood of misidentification existed. George bears the initial burden of proving that the identification procedure was impermissibly suggestive. If he meets this burden, we then evaluate “the totality of the circumstances to determine whether the identification was nevertheless reliable.” 3 “No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law . . . .” U.S. Const. amend. V. -7- No. 04-5072 United States v. George Meyer, 359 F.3d at 824 (citing Ledbetter v. Edwards, 35 F.3d 1062, 1071-72 (6th Cir. 1994)). If the identification procedure was not impermissibly suggestive or the identification was nevertheless reliable, there is no due process violation and we leave it to “the jury to determine the ultimate weight to be given the identification.” Smith, 723 F.2d at 482 (citation omitted); see also Meyer, 359 F.3d at 824. The record shows that the Government’s identification procedure accorded with due process. George does not point to any specific item in the photograph of him used in the array which would suggest it was, in fact, a mug shot. His photograph appeared similar in size and appearance to the photographs of the other five individuals in the array. There were no jail identification numbers visible. Thus, the use of George’s mug shot in the array did not create an inference that he had previously been in jail. Moreover, police searched thousands of pictures of individuals before selecting five individuals who were similar to George in appearance. The victims were instructed to make a positive identification only if absolutely certain. The police used these and other procedures to safeguard against a false-positive identification. George asserts, however, that more should have been done. He lists a number of additional procedures that should have been used, including videotaping the identification and creating a written record to which the witness could “change, add, emphasize, or de-emphasize anything.” George fails to cite, however, any authority suggesting that due process requires the use of such procedures during a photographic array. We decline to create a checklist of procedures law -8- No. 04-5072 United States v. George enforcement must use when administering such arrays, and find that the procedures used here were sufficient. George also argues that Tahra Beam’s positive identification of him must have been the result of an unduly suggestive photographic array. In support, he cites her inability to give a detailed description of the Caucasian assailant shortly after the crime, as well as the change in George’s appearance from the time of the crime to the time of the mug shot. This argument does not stand on its own as a separate legal claim for relief, but rather as another evidentiary basis for his due process claim that the use of his mug shot, and the alleged deficiencies in administering the array, were unduly suggestive. Even with this inferential evidence, George does not satisfy his initial burden of showing that the pre-trial identification was unduly suggestive. Accordingly, we need not determine whether the identification was reliable notwithstanding the identification procedures used.