Eyewitness Identification
Reform Litigation Network
Welcome to the Eyewitness Identification Reform Litigation Network. The newly formed Network is sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), the Innocence Project (IP), and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS). The Network brings together Point People in the fifty states who are defense lawyers and experts in the field of eyewitness identification committed to reform in the collection of eyewitness identification evidence and litigation of eyewitness identification cases. NACDL, NLADA, IP and PDS ("the sponsors") are very pleased that you have agreed to participate in the Network as a Point Person for your state and we look forward to working with you to advance reform and litigation efforts in your jurisdiction.
As the DNA exonerations have revealed, eyewitness error is a leading cause of wrongful convictions. Thus reform in the collection and use of eyewitness identification evidence is of paramount importance. Defense advocates in individual states are already making great strides in this area on their own. The hope of the sponsors is that there is strength in numbers and that this Network will foster communication and collaboration within the defense community regarding eyewitness identification issues. Our first step was to set up the Eyewitness Identification list serve (eyewitness@nladalistserv.org), which we encourage you and others to continue to use. The Network is intended to create a more structured system whereby the latest research and model materials can be easily disseminated to defense advocates within the fifty states, and information about winning litigation strategies and potential test cases can shared and centralized within the Network.
In this initial email, we have attached a number of materials in which we explain our mission, what we expect from Point People, and what you should expect from us. These documents also include some useful model litigation and educational materials regarding eyewitness identification issues. An index of these materials (with hyperlinks to the actual documents) is attached below. A hard copy of all of these materials is also being sent to you by regular mail.
To officially launch the Eyewitness Identification Reform Litigation Network, we are holding a nationwide conference call for all of the Point People on Friday November 17, 2006 at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. You will receive an email in the next week asking you to RSVP if you can join the call; at that point we will give you the call-in information. We hope that you will be able to join us. Also, we are tentatively planning to have a Point Person meeting in New York City, on Friday, March 2, 2007. We will provide more details later, but, if possible, please save the date.
Again, welcome to the Eyewitness Identification Reform Litigation Network.
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Legal Aid and Defender Association
Innocence Project
Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
Hyperlinked Point Person Binder Index
2. Expectations for Eyewitness Identification Reform Litigation Network
3. Five Necessary Reforms in Eyewitness Identification Procedures
4. Case selection criteria for Eyewitness Identification Test Cases
6. Step-By-Step Primer on Litigating An Eyewitness Identification Case
7. Sample Materials
a. FOIA request for police procedures
b. Brady letter re Eyewitness Identification Issues
c. Motion to Preclude Introduction of Mecklenburg Report
d. Sample Eyewitness Identification Jury Instructions
8. Educational Materials
a. Outline of Eyewitness Identification Case Law
b. Articles
i. Gary Wells, Eyewitness Identification: Systemic Reforms, 2006 Wisconsin Law Review 615
ii. Richard Schmechel, et al., Beyond the Ken? Testing Jurors' Understanding of Eyewitness Reliability Evidence, 46 Jurimetrics Journal 177 (Winter 2006)
iii. Timothy P. O'Toole, What's the Matter with Illinois: How an Opportunity Was Squandered to Conduct an Important Study On Eyewitness Identification Procedures, The Champion (August 2006)
iv. Giovanna Shay & Timothy O'Toole, Manson v. Braithwaite Revisited: Towards a New Rule of Decision for Due Process Challenges to Eyewitness Identification Procedures
c. Published Decisions
i. State v. Delgado, 2006 WL 2128700 (N.J. 2006)
ii. State v. Herrera, 902 A.2d 177 (N.J. 2006)
iii. State v. Dubose, 699 N.W.2d 582 (Wisc. 2005)
iv. Brodes v. State, 614 S.E.2d 766 (Ga. 2005)
v. State v. Ledbetter, 881 A.2d 290 (Ct. 2005)
vi. State v. Cromedy, 727 A.2d 457 (N.J. 1999)
9. Links to other model materials and resources on the internet
a. NLADA/NACDL Forensic Science Materials
b. PDS Special Litigation Website -- Model Pleadings
c. Website for Dr. Gary Wells, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Iowa State University (see link to publications at top of page)
d. Website for Dr. Steven Penrod, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
e. Website for Dr. Nancy Steblay, Professor of Psychology, Augsburg College
f. American Psychology-Law Website
g. Dr. Roy Malpass' Eyewitness ID Research Laboratory Website (for comprehensive bibliographies of articles discussing discrete areas of eyewitness ID research (cross-racial IDs, weapon-focus, eyewitness confidence, etc.)