As a suspect in a criminal case, the most detrimental issue that can occur is identification by an eyewitness. In some cases, eyewitness testimony is the only evidence the prosecution team has against you. To make matters worse, judges and jurors give eyewitness testimony too much credibility because eyewitnesses are under oath when presenting their testimonies.
However, several issues and errors can affect the credibility and reliability of eyewitness testimony, and lawmakers understand that. If you do not have a proper and aggressive attorney to help you unmask these errors and issues, an eyewitness testimony could make you face a conviction for a crime you did not commit.
If you are arrested or charged as a suspect in any criminal case, retaining the services of a seasoned defense attorney as soon as possible would help. The attorney you choose can help you prove you are a victim of mistaken identity at trial to secure a favorable outcome, including case dismissal or a lighter sentence.
EyeWitness Testimony at a Glance
Legally speaking, eyewitness testimony refers to an individual's account or side of the story after witnessing or seeing the commission of a criminal offense, accident, or other lawfully important issue.
Eyewitness testimony describes issues and events that occurred before, during, and after the commission of the criminal offense, including the perpetrators they saw and other individuals present at the scene.
On the other hand, an eyewitness is any person or bystander who was nearby or present at the crime scene for the offense you are up against. Although the role of eyewitness testimony in the criminal justice system is complex, it can significantly affect the outcome of your case at trial.
If the prosecutor can present an eyewitness who can testify against you, the court could accept his/her testimony as credible, leading to a wrongful conviction. Although some researchers consider eyewitness accounts trustworthy, the veracity of eyewitness accounts is questionable because of several factors or problems specific to your case.
For this reason, if you are being investigated as a suspect in a criminal case or are under arrest, you should consult a defense attorney for legal advice. To find out if you are a victim of mistaken identity or other eyewitness errors, an experienced lawyer will carefully review every detail of your particular case. Then, he/she will prepare the strongest legal defenses to help you secure a desirable outcome.
Factors That Could Affect the Reliability and Correctness of Eyewitness Accounts in Court
The outcome of the allegations you are up against can be significantly influenced by eyewitness testimony in court. Even though eyewitness testimony is crucial to the legal system, it is occasionally possible for them to give an inaccurate or flawed account of what happened.
Below are common issues and factors that can cause a law-abiding citizen to present erroneous testimony that your attorney and the court should not ignore:
Environmental Factors
When a well-meaning individual witnesses a criminal offense, some environmental and weather conditions, like fog or mist, could prevent him/her from accurately perceiving and remembering the events that occurred that day.
Stress and Anxiety
For most individuals, witnessing a criminal offense can be an upsetting and stressful experience, especially if the offense is violent or grave, like murder or vehicular manslaughter. Most people believe a person's stress sharpens his/her memories and senses, which is untrue.
People under anxiety or stress will hardly identify a suspect correctly or provide accurate accounts of events as they occurred, and this could negatively affect the results of your charges. That is particularly true if it is the first time the eyewitness has witnessed a severe accident or the commission of a grave offense.
His/Her Confidence Level
While some eyewitnesses in court are super-confident about what they experienced or saw, others could lack the confidence to give an account of events as they occurred that day. Ultimately, the differences in their mistakes or accuracy are minor, but they could affect the outcome of your case.
However, that does not imply that the testimony of a confident eyewitness is more accurate than that of a non-confident eyewitness because he/she can also make mistakes and errors in his/her account of events.
Although an eyewitness's confidence could influence how he/she presents his/her side of the story about the charges you are up against, his/her confidence level does not increase the accuracy of his/her testimony. Fortunately, the court understands that even a super-confident eyewitness can present erroneous information that can negatively affect the outcome of a defendant's case.
It is upon your defense attorney to pinpoint these errors and prove to the court with clear evidence that the eyewitness testimony is erroneous to secure the best possible outcome on the alleged offense.
Racial Disparity
Have you ever wondered why people from a different race from yours have several resemblances in their hair and skin color to the color of their eyes? It can be difficult to distinguish between two individuals of similar race unless you are close to them or they are your friends.
If the eyewitness is not of the same race as you, there could also be built-in racism or prejudice, which could influence how he/she interprets or recalls what happened. Even though it is difficult to prove these problems in court, they can greatly impact the reliability and accuracy of eyewitness accounts.
Weapon Focus
Regardless of whether the person carrying the weapon was wearing a mask, the eyewitness is likely to focus on the weapon in criminal cases involving dangerous weapons like shotguns or machetes. Because of the shock and fear of seeing a weapon, eyewitnesses tend to pay more attention to this lethal weapon than the person holding it.
Hence, there is a high chance of an eyewitness making an error when identifying the suspect because his/her focus was on the dangerous weapon. In this situation, you could face a wrongful conviction for a crime you did not commit.
You will rely on your attorney to help prove the eyewitness testimony is unreliable because his/her primary focus during the commission of the offense was on the weapon.
Selecting or Identifying a Suspect Under Pressure
Everyone is usually under pressure when investigating a serious offense, including the police, investigators, and an innocent eyewitness whose only mistake in this case was observing or witnessing the commission of an offense.
Undoubtedly, an eyewitness could feel extremely pressured to identify the real suspect in a criminal case, even if he/she is not legally obligated to do so. However, the police will not show or discuss this with the eyewitness.
That is particularly true if the suspected individuals have one, two, or more common body features or if an eyewitness is afraid the suspect could track them down and hurt him/her. In such a situation, the eyewitness is more likely to make rushed decisions or identify a suspect under pressure, affecting the accuracy of his/her testimony.
Presence of Multiple Culprits
If the charges you are up against have several suspects, it could be challenging for the eyewitness to accurately remember their facial appearance or dress code when giving testimony. Considering that some crimes, like the negligent discharge of a firearm, occur within the blink of an eye, it could be challenging for the eyewitness to identify the actual perpetrator when the investigators line up suspects.
Due to a lack of mental preparedness, it could even be more difficult for an eyewitness to remember several physical appearances or features of several individuals simultaneously, leading to inaccurate testimonies.
Interaction With Several People Daily
If an eyewitness meets several people daily, there is a high chance he/she will make an erroneous identification when the investigating officers ask him/her to help identify the actual perpetrator in a criminal case. The increased chances of wrong identification in criminal cases are because the eyewitnesses' memory is full of physical appearances and images of several people.
Lack of Unique or Distinct Characteristics
If the perpetrators of the offense did not have unique or distinct characteristics, it could be challenging for an eyewitness to identify the actual suspects when asked to do so. For example, if the perpetrators had tattoos or were tall, the eyewitnesses would have memorable and crucial details to help them identify the actual perpetrator physically or in a photograph.
Time and Human Memory's Limitations
Another element that can significantly impact the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is time. For example, when investigating officers request an eyewitness to give an account of events that occurred several months or years ago, the witness may not remember everything due to poor memory.
Eyewitness memory deterioration or distortion over time can impact the reliability and accuracy of their testimony regarding the alleged offense. That is particularly true if the eyewitness is an older adult or young person.
False Memories
An eyewitness could make you face a conviction for a crime you did not commit when he/she gives a false memory in court. It is not uncommon for an eyewitness with a biased motive or who has received payment (incentive) from the actual offender to provide false testimony to the prosecutor or the judge.
Fortunately, lawmakers understand the possibility of these kinds of issues in criminal cases, meaning a skilled defense attorney could shed light on your case and provide the necessary evidence to prove the eyewitness testimony is false.
One way an attorney can tell if an eyewitness's testimony is false is by paying attention to his/her confidence level when giving his/her account of the event or criminal case. Eyewitness confidence is higher when providing incorrect details and is usually more detailed than factual and accurate memory.
Influence of the Case's Facts
Before providing testimonies to the investigating officers and the court, most eyewitnesses discuss and recount the case's events and occurrences with other interested parties and observers.
Over time, due to the exchange of ideas about what could have led to the crime and how the offense occurred, an eyewitness often recreates an account of what he/she believes occurred, which could be a creation or perception of his/her mind.
Misrepresentation at Trial
How the arresting law enforcement officer presents the eyewitness testimony at trial could affect its accuracy and reliability. For example, a law enforcement officer could present a suspect's identification as positive and certain even though the eyewitness did not express or show high confidence in the identification process.
Comparably, even if an eyewitness in a criminal case is wrong, he/she could have high confidence or certainty when identifying suspects if they have received confirmation feedback from law enforcement officers.
You need a competent defense lawyer to identify problems that could influence eyewitness testimony in a criminal case and craft defenses that can effectively challenge the prosecutor's evidence against you for the best possible outcome.
How Can an Attorney Challenge Eyewitness Testimony in a Criminal Case?
The defense attorney you choose can use several defenses to challenge an eyewitness's testimony on the alleged charge for the best possible outcome. For instance, your attorney can cast doubt on the accuracy and reliability of the eyewitness testimony against you through:
Cross Examination of the Available Eyewitnesses
Finding the answers to important questions that can impact the outcome of your case is the primary goal of the cross-examination of the eyewitness. Your defense lawyer will question the eyewitnesses about their observations, possible biases, memory accuracy, and any other matter that could taint the accuracy of their testimony against you during the cross-examination.
Presenting Alibi Witness
To raise questions about the reliability and accuracy of the eyewitness testimony used against you, your attorney could present one or more Alibi witnesses who can attest to your whereabouts at the time of the alleged offense. If the court accepts your defense, it could drop or reduce your charges to a less serious offense, carrying a shorter jail sentence.
Showing Flaws in the Suspect Line-Up Procedures Used by the Investigating Police Officer
Your defense attorney may challenge the investigation officers' line-up procedure if they feel the suspect identification process was suggestive or faulty. Examples of these flaws include:
- Providing suggestions and instructions to an eyewitness.
- Improper line-up composition.
The jury or judge will likely dismiss your case if your defense attorney has sufficient and clear evidence to support this defense argument.
Identifying Contradictions and Inconsistencies in the Eyewitness Accounts
Your defense attorney will keenly examine and scrutinize the eyewitness testimony to determine if it has discrepancies and inconsistencies that can undermine its accuracy and credibility. Differences between the eyewitness's initial statements and subsequent testimony could raise questions about the reliability of his/her account of events that occurred before or during the commission of the alleged offense.
Presenting Expert Witnesses
Your defense attorney could present expert witnesses, like psychologists, to help testify about the inherent fallibility of eyewitness memory and other factors that could affect the credibility of his/her testimony against you.
Factors the Court Will Consider When Determining Whether the Eyewitness Testimony is Reliable
Although the above defenses help challenge eyewitness testimony, the court will consider several other factors when deciding whether the testimonies available are reliable. Some of these factors include (but are not limited to) the following:
- The eyewitness's degree of attention before or during the commission of the offense.
- The opportunity the eyewitness had to see or view the suspect at the time of the offense.
- The degree of certainty an eyewitness has about the case.
- The length of time between the crime and eyewitness confrontation.
- The reliability and accuracy of the eyewitness's prior description of the suspect.
Additionally, as a defendant in the criminal justice system, you have a legal right to have an attorney during pretrial proceedings. During this stage of the legal process, an experienced lawyer can assist in exposing inaccuracies in the eyewitness testimony to obtain a favorable result without going to trial.
Generally speaking, to challenge eyewitness testimony in a criminal case, your attorney must carefully examine the facts of your particular case and be knowledgeable of the different facts and circumstances that can impact its accuracy and reliability.
The key to securing the best possible outcome in your case is contacting a skilled defense attorney as soon as possible if you are under investigation or arrested as a suspect in a criminal case.
Find a Reputable Defense Attorney Near Me
By keenly scrutinizing the eyewitnesses' testimonies, exposing discrepancies, and providing alternative explanations for the facts and circumstances in question, a reliable attorney can cast doubt on the prosecutor's case against you.
Do not let inaccurate or biased eyewitness testimony prejudice you in a criminal case. Our attorneys at California Criminal Lawyer Group can help shed light on your case and uncover all possible errors affecting the accuracy of the eyewitness testimony against you for the best possible outcome.
Call us at 408-622-0204 and let our able defense attorney represent you if you are under arrest or being investigated as a suspect in a criminal case in San Jose.
