{"id":2039,"date":"2017-09-16T14:40:30","date_gmt":"2017-09-16T18:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/aer\/?p=2039"},"modified":"2021-12-16T14:57:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T14:57:52","slug":"look-before-you-litigate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2017\/09\/16\/look-before-you-litigate\/","title":{"rendered":"LOOK…BEFORE YOU LITIGATE!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Factfinders \u2013 judges and juries \u2013 rely on a witness\u2019 claim of first hand knowledge.\u00a0 \u201cI looked down the street and saw X occur.\u201d\u00a0 And indeed, personal knowledge is a legal prerequisite for all except expert testimony.\u00a0 Yet too few lawyers take the fundamental and essential step of standing in the shoes of the percipient witness to see whether the line of sight was uninterrupted or the distance too great to permit an accurate view.<\/p>\n

That this failure is recurring is sad but true.\u00a0 This author is involved in not one but two cases \u2013 one as counsel and one as a consulting expert \u2013 where the charge was murder and the proof dependent on the accuracy of eyewitnesses but trial counsel never visited the scene or took photographs to test [and disprove] the claimed ability to see clearly what had transpired.\u00a0 A post-trial visit in each instance showed not merely that the view was limited but that, in fact, it was impossible<\/em> to see what the witnesses claimed to have observed (and what, in each instances, jurors relied upon to convict).<\/p>\n

The lawyers also failed to learn the science.\u00a0 An abundance of research shows the limits of human ability to perceive details, in particular facial characteristics, even in the best of lighting.\u00a0 Research conducted by Professor Geoffrey Loftus and his colleagues (Loftus & Harley, 2005) shows with specificity how, as a face is viewed at further and further distances, there is less ability to detect the details of the face and the facial details are coarser. The below image recreates the detail lost in viewing a face from 20 feet (left) to 100 feet (right).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other research has shown the drop-off point.\u00a0 In one study, participants viewed faces from distances between 3 and 40 meters and were then immediately asked to make an identification from a six-person lineup. The proportion of correct responses to errors was too great at distances over 15 meters (about 16.4 yards) for an identification to be probative or reliable. Those researchers recommended a 15-meter distance as a useful \u201crule of thumb\u201d for courts.<\/p>\n

In one of the two murder cases referenced above, the witnesses were outside of a Barber shop when a shot was fired outside of a corner store one block away, drawing their attention.\u00a0 Police measured the distance at approximately 120 feet.\u00a0 Two eyewitnesses each claimed the ability to identify the accused as the perpetrator, based on a view of a few seconds.\u00a0 Trial counsel never demonstrated the impossibility of this averment.<\/p>\n

A post-trial reconstruction of the event was undertaken, using the simple camera feature found on most \u201csmart\u201d phones today and confirmed with a standard camera.\u00a0 A passerby was enlisted, and photos were taken at the full distance, a half-way point, and essentially face-to-face outside the Barber shop.\u00a0 Here is what they showed:<\/p>\n

THE VIEW FROM THE SHOP TO THE CRIME SCENE<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE VIEW HALF WAY TO THE SHOP<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE VIEW FACE TO FACE<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are multiple \u201cbottom lines\u201d here.\u00a0 First, in this instance an innocent person may be in prison for life, due to counsel\u2019s dereliction.\u00a0 Second, it doesn\u2019t take a lot to test witness accuracy \u2013 just stand in the person\u2019s shoes.\u00a0 Third, if the reenactment does not disprove the witness\u2019 claim the lawyer still has gained.\u00a0 There is knowledge of what might<\/em> have been seen and there is power \u2013 because when a lawyer who has been at the scene asks questions showing her personal and detailed knowledge of the environs, the witness is more apt to be compliant under examination.\u00a0 The witness knows that counsel has information and is less likely to be fooled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Factfinders \u2013 judges and juries \u2013 rely on a witness\u2019 claim of first hand knowledge.\u00a0 \u201cI looked down the street and saw X occur.\u201d\u00a0 And indeed, personal knowledge is a legal prerequisite for all except expert testimony.\u00a0 Yet too few lawyers take the fundamental and essential step of standing in the shoes of the percipient<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,6,11],"tags":[],"coauthors":[238],"class_list":["post-2039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-advocacy-and-evidence-blog","category-criminal-law","category-trial-advocacy"],"yoast_head":"\nLOOK...BEFORE YOU LITIGATE! - Advocacy and Evidence Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Factfinders rely on a witness' claim of what was seen. 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