Court Opinion

ID: 9631794
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 10:50:27.907038+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:08:01.497062
License: Public Domain

*769SULLIVAN, J.
I dissent.
I join with Mr. Justice Mosk in his conclusion that this case, in which the lineup occurred previous to Kirby, is controlled by the principles set forth in our decision in People v. Fowler (1969) 1 Cal.3d 335 [82 Cal.Rptr. 363, 461 P.2d 643]. I do not, however, agree with his further conclusion that the lineup in question was conducted in a manner consistent with those principles. On the contrary, I am of the view that the lineup in this case was violative of defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights, that admission of evidence of his identification at the lineup was therefore error, and that that error compels reversal of the judgment herein because the People have failed to show beyond a reasonable doubt that it did not contribute to the verdict of guilt. (See Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18, 24 [17 L.Ed.2d 705, 710, 87 S.Ct. 824, 24 A.L.R.3d 1065].)
The record in this case clearly shows that when the police informed defendant of the scheduled lineup and advised him of his rights, he declined to waive his right to- counsel. The police then summoned a member of the public defender’s office to represent him at the lineup. However, when the attorney appeared, the police authorities not only refused to allow him to consult with defendant beforehand but also refused to indicate to counsel which of the participants in the lineup was in fact defendant. The first of these refusals, approved by dictum in a decision of the Court of Appeal (People v. Hatfield (1969) 273 Cal.App.2d 745, 748 [78 Cal.Rptr. 805]), may be justified in circumstances where, as here, the attendance of counsel is secured at the defendant’s request shortly before the lineup is scheduled to proceed. The second, however, is in my view wholly inconsistent with defendant’s Wade-Gilbert rights and requires reversal in this case.
In People v. Williams (1971) 3 Cal.3d 853, at page 856 [92 Cal.Rptr. 6, 478 P.2d 942], we indicated that the Wade-Gilbert rules “were adopted for two primary reasons: to enable an accused to detect any unfairness in his confrontation with the witness, and to insure that he will be aware of any suggestion by law enforcement officers, intentional or unintentional, at the time the witness makes his identification.” We held there that, although the presence of counsel at the lineup in that case “guaranteed that he would be able to detect any unfairness in the confrontation between appellant and the witness,” the exclusion of counsel from the moment of actual identification “frustrated the second purpose of Wade and Gilbert, namely, to safeguard against the inherent risks of suggestion which are present at that time.” (3 Cal.3d at p. 857.)
In the instant case, where counsel was afforded a complete opportunity to observe the moment of identification, we are not concerned with the *770so-called “second purpose” of the Wade-Gilbert rules. Rather the question is whether counsel, by his mere presence at the lineup in this case, was provided an adequate opportunity to detect unfairness in the confrontation itself. I am of the view that he was not. The refusal of police authorities to indicate to counsel which of the participants in the lineup was in fact defendant rendered it difficult if not impossible for counsel to perform the task of observation and comparison which the Wade-Gilbert rules contemplate that he perform.1 This refusal, in my opinion, was tantamount to a denial of the presence of counsel at the lineup.
I find apposite the following portion of the opinion of the Court of Appeal, authored by Presiding Justice Gardner for a unanimous court and reversing the judgment of conviction in the case at bench: “[I]t appears clear to us that for an attorney intelligently to be a ‘silent observer’ he should know what he is observing. At the very least, he should know who his ‘client’ is so that he may examine the other members of the lineup for indications of similarity and dissimilarity. Asking anyone to look at five or seven strange faces without knowing which face he is going to be called upon to compare with the others and subsequently testify as to similarities or dissimilarities is simply not reasonable, [ft] Therefore, we hold that the failure of the officer to identify the defendant to [counsel] resulted in an inadequate representation, i.e., no representation, therefore, evidence of the line-up was improperly presented.”
I believe that this analysis is correct. Because the People have failed to show that the erroneous admission of evidence of the lineup was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt (see Chapman v. California, supra, 386 U.S. 18, 24) the judgment should be reversed.
Tobriner, J., concurred.

Counsel, testifying at trial concerning the lineup, was asked by the court whether the participants in the lineup were “substantially similar in physical characteristics.” Counsel replied: “Your Honor, it is impossible for me to answer the question since I didn’t know which of the individuals in the lineup was the suspect. Consequently, it is difficult to determine which of them the other people are supposed to be looking similar to. This is one of the problems.” Counsel further testified that he did not consider that he had adequately represented defendant at the time of the lineup.