Pretrial Idenfications

Question 1

Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause

Answer 1

The confrontation clause is often implicated in co-defendant confessions. A co-defendant’s confession is admissible only if:

(1) statements concerning the other party are redacted or
(2) the co-defendant is subject to cross-examination

Question 2

Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Clause

Answer 2

Under the 6th Amendment, there is a right to counsel at all critical stages once adversary judicial proceedings have begun, so this includes any post-charge lineup. There is no right to counsel when the victim is looking at photographs to make a photo ID, and there is no right to counsel at the fingerprinting stage.

Question 3

Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause

Answer 3

Under the Due Process Clause, the identification:

(1) cannot be unreasonably suggestive; and
(2) there cannot be a substantial likelihood of misdirection.

Question 4

Subsequent Identifications

Answer 4

If the witness recognized the suspected person from observations independently from the former line-up, his in-court identification can be based on this independent source and thus must not be excluded.