New Procedures for Photo Line-Ups and Live Line-Ups Under California Penal Code Section 859.7
For the last 26 years, I've had to deal with photo lines and live lines for purposes of identification in criminal cases.
A lot of these procedures have been done improperly, which has influenced the potential witness in a case to identify my client or other clients related to cases that I've defended in Los Angeles County.
They have now developed new procedures pursuant to Penal Code Section 859.7. Now, the detectives and prosecutors, if they're involved at the stage where the identification is being done, have to do certain things to ensure a successful witness identification.
Police Can't Inform Witness If They Picked Right Suspect
It's still not clear exactly what happens if they don't do these things, but I believe that the defense could challenge the identification if they do not do what they're supposed to according to Penal Code Section 859(b).
If you look at the section, you will see a list of things, but it has to do with, for example, the witness identifying the person that law enforcement thinks is the perpetrator of a crime.
Law enforcement is not allowed to tell that person that's the right person, or they can't tell them that's the wrong person. They don't need to tell them anything. They do the identification, and that's it.
Told Suspect Might Not Be in Live Line-Up
There's also a list of things that the prosecutors have to read to a potential identifying witness, one of which is that the person may not be in the live or photographic line-up.
Usually, it's going to be the police reading this because the prosecutors don't typically get involved in the stage where there's a line-up. It's typically the police that are doing this, and this is a decision that needs to be made early in the case.
These procedures in Penal Code Section 859.7 do not apply to a field show-up.
For example, where they've caught somebody close in time to the crime, they bring the alleged victim or witnesses to the scene where that person is, and they see if the person can identify the individual out in the field that was responsible for the crime.
These procedures involve when they get their witnesses to the police station, when they want to show them a photo line-up of six people, and when they put the defendant in one of the positions. They have to do a whole host of different things.
Blind Viewing
Another requirement in this Code Section is blind viewing, which means the person administering the photo line-up can't know who the person is or who they think the perpetrator of the crime is.
This is because I've had a lot of cases where witnesses have told me the investigators have put their finger near the witness's picture or signal somehow that that was the actual perpetrator of the crime.
Many inappropriate things happen during these photographic and live line-ups, so they've had to put these procedures in place.
So, if you or a loved one is charged with a crime and part of the identification is a photo or live line-up. Obviously, you want to get an attorney involved to challenge that.
If you're innocent of the crime, you want to make sure that your attorney cross-examines the police regarding what procedures they've used in the line-up in order to make the identification. I've seen all kinds of inappropriate things done by the police.
Now, at least, there are some hard and fast rules that can be used to challenge the police when it comes to criminal cases in Los Angeles involving eyewitness identification by way of a line live-up or a photographic line-up.
Hedding Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436. Call (213) 542-0979 for a free case evaluation.
