Question 1

The difference between a lineup and a showup is that a lineup includes a group of persons,whereas the showup involves a presentation of only one criminal suspect to the witness making the identification.

Accepted Answer

A lineup involves a group of persons presented to the witness for identification, while a showup involves only one suspect presented to the witness for identification.

Question 2

In instances where a criminal defendant shows that a police identification procedure was suggestive,the court will:

Accepted Answer

The court will weigh the suggestibility evidence against factors indicative of reliability before excluding the results of the procedure. This is because suggestive identification procedures aren't necessarily unreliable, and the court needs to balance the interests of justice and fairness with the need for reliable evidence.

Question 3

The American Bar Association recommends that lineups and photo arrays should be double-blind.This means that the suspect and the foils should not be able to see the identity of the witness.

Accepted Answer

Double-blind lineups mean that neither the witness nor the person administering the lineup knows who the suspect is, to prevent any unintentional influence on the witness's identification.

Question 4

An indicted suspect and his attorney are seated in an interrogation room at the police station.Without informing the suspect or attorney,the police allow a witness to observe them through a window in the room's wall to determine if the victim can identify anyone in the room as the perpetrator.

Accepted Answer

This procedure is a violation of the defendant's rights. The police must inform the suspect and their attorney of any witnesses or observers present during interrogation, as this is a violation of the defendant's right to a fair trial and legal counsel. Allowing a witness to observe without informing the suspect or attorney can taint the identification process and compromise the integrity of the investigation.

Question 5

Data from The Innocence Project suggests that the leading cause of wrongful conviction in United States courts is:

Accepted Answer

The Innocence Project, which works to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals, has shown that eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful conviction in the United States. This can result from flawed eyewitness procedures, cross-racial identifications, and other factors that can impact the reliability of eyewitness testimony. False confessions and use of unreliable informants are also significant factors in wrongful convictions, but not as prominent as eyewitness misidentification. The use of improper forensic techniques can also lead to wrongful convictions, but it is not the leading cause according to The Innocence Project's data.

Question 6

Retrieval of memories can be affected by ________________.In this phenomenon,different memory images may become combined or confused with one another.

Accepted Answer

Unconscious transference is a phenomenon where memories from different events become confused or combined, leading to the incorrect association of a memory with a different context or event.

Question 7

In Neil v.Biggers,the Supreme Court listed five factors to be considered in evaluating the likelihood of misidentification.Which of the following is NOT one of those factors?

Accepted Answer

The time of day the crime occurred is not one of the factors listed in Neil v. Biggers for evaluating the likelihood of misidentification. The other four factors are accuracy of the witness's prior description of the criminal, length of time between the crime and the confrontation, witness's degree of attention, and the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness during the confrontation.

Question 8

Before,during,and after an identification procedure,police and prosecutors should avoid giving witnesses any feedback on whether they feel they have made a "good" or "correct" identification.

Accepted Answer

Giving feedback can influence a witness's confidence in their identification, potentially leading to false identifications or wrongful convictions. It is important for identification procedures to be conducted in an unbiased and neutral manner.

Question 9

Applying the rule of law of Kirby v.Illinois,in which of the below choices does the suspect not have a right to have an attorney prior to or during the confrontation?

Accepted Answer

The rule in Kirby v. Illinois states that the right to counsel does not attach until formal judicial proceedings have begun. An on-scene showup immediately after a warrantless arrest does not involve formal proceedings, so the suspect does not have the right to an attorney at that point.

Question 10

The creation or substitution of false memories through later suggestion is called:

Accepted Answer

Confabulation refers to the creation or substitution of false memories through later suggestion, often due to gaps in one's memory or the influence of outside suggestion. Acquisition refers to the initial process of learning and acquiring new information, while retention refers to the ability to store and retrieve previously learned information. Unconscious transference occurs when someone mistakenly attributes a memory to the wrong source, usually due to a similarity or association with another event or person.

Question 11

Which of the following statements is not true about perception?

Accepted Answer

Perception is dependent upon both the accuracy of physical senses and psychological processes. Our perception is not solely based on the raw sensory inputs we receive, but also on how our brain processes and interprets that information.

Question 12

Which of the following is a true statement about the proper procedures for conducting a lineup?

Accepted Answer

It is important for eyewitnesses to state their level of confidence in any identification they make. This helps to ensure that any identification made is based on accurate memory and not just chance. The other options are inaccurate - having multiple suspects in a lineup can lead to confusion and false identifications, there is no set minimum or preferred number of people for a lineup, and sequential viewing has been found to be more effective than simultaneous viewing.

Question 13

Foils should be chosen for their dissimilarity to the witness's description of the perpetrator,with the suspect standing out from the foils.

Accepted Answer

Foils in a lineup should resemble the witness's description of the perpetrator to ensure fairness and avoid suggestively pointing to the suspect.

Question 14

Photo arrays are considered a "critical stage" of a criminal prosecution.

Accepted Answer

Photo arrays, where witnesses or victims are asked to identify a suspect from a series of photographs, are part of the investigation process and not considered a "critical stage" that requires the presence of legal counsel under the Sixth Amendment. Critical stages are those parts of the criminal process where the rights of the accused might be affected, such as trial or arraignment.

Question 15

?Persons in a lineup may

Accepted Answer

In a lineup, persons may be required to utter the words used by the perpetrator as part of the identification process to see if their voice matches or resembles that of the perpetrator as described by witnesses. This can be a part of the procedure to help witnesses or victims identify the suspect. Other options like refusing to wear certain clothing, being of obviously different races, or refusing to be photographed, would not be standard or permissible practices in a lineup designed to fairly and accurately identify suspects.

Question 16

Unarranged,spontaneous showups are considered impermissibly suggestive for constitutional law purposes.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Unarranged,spontaneous showups are considered impermissibly suggestive for...

Question 17

The right to counsel guaranteed by the Wade-Gilbert cases does not apply at the outset of a criminal investigation,instead,the right must "attach" when a "triggering event" occurs.

Accepted Answer

The Wade-Gilbert cases established that the right to counsel applies at the pretrial lineup stage, but only if the "triggering event" of a lineup has occurred. This means that the right to counsel does not attach at the outset of a criminal investigation, but only when a specific event occurs that triggers the right to counsel.

Question 18

In the Wade-Gilbert cases,the Court extended the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to all pretrial identification procedures.

Accepted Answer

The Wade-Gilbert cases (United States v. Wade and Gilbert v. California, decided in 1967) extended the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to post-indictment lineups and other confrontational pretrial identification procedures, not to all pretrial identification procedures.

Question 19

When a person has witnessed a violent crime that involves a weapon,he pays very close attention to his surroundings and his level of accuracy in recalling these events is much higher than in normal circumstances.

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as "weapon focus effect," where witnesses tend to focus on the weapon itself rather than other details of the scene, often leading to a decrease in the accuracy of their memory for the event as a whole.

Question 20

The term confrontation does not include presentation of photos of suspects to victims.

Accepted Answer

Confrontation refers to face-to-face identification of suspects by victims or witnesses, and does not include presentation of photos. The presentation of photos is called a photo lineup or a photo array.

Quiz 14: Pretrial Visual Identification Procedures