Deck 14: Pretrial Visual Identification Procedures

Question 1

The _____ states that at a pretrial, post indictment lineup, the suspect has a right to assistance of counsel.

A) Stovall v. Denno case
B) U.S. v. Wade case
C) Yerkes-Dodson rule
D) Wade-Gilbert rule

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In determining the admissibility of identification evidence, the most important factor is whether _____.

A) procedural due process rights were violated
B) substantive due process rights were violated
C) the evidence is reliable
D) police abuses were incidental or intentional

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In which of the following circumstances would it be appropriate to use a showup identification?

A) Police apprehend a suspect near the scene of the crime shortly after commission of the crime.
B) Police take a description from the eyewitness and have probable cause to believe that she is describing a known suspect.
C) The witness refuses to go to the police station for a lineup.
D) Police are unable to find any volunteers to participate in a lineup.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The day after a robbery, the police bring the victim to the station to view a group of a half-dozen people in hopes the victim can identify the perpetrator. What is the most specific term for this procedure?

A) lineup
B) showup
C) confrontation
D) identification

Question 5

The Wade-Gilbert cases held that a post-indictment pre-trial lineup is a "critical stage" of a criminal prosecution that triggers the right to counsel. The logic of the Court in reaching this conclusion was that the presence of the defense attorney will _____.

A) prevent suggestive techniques that could lead to wrongful convictions
B) allow the suspect to assert his or her right to not participate in the lineup
C) let the suspect control the process that are implemented by police
D) allow effective cross-examination of the witness during the lineup

Question 6

If police require a person in custody to appear in a lineup over his objection, there is _____.

A) no violation of any rights
B) a violation of Fourth Amendment right to privacy
C) a violation of Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination
D) violation of both the Fourth and Fifth Amendments

Question 7

Within an hour after a robbery, the police identify an individual whose modus operandi and description match that described by the victim. Police bring a photo of the individual. This is most accurately called a photographic _____.

A) showup
B) lineup
C) confrontation
D) identification

Question 8

_____ is an unconscious process that concerns the acquisition, retention, and recall of past experience.

A) Memory
B) Sensation
C) Perception
D) Cognition

Question 9

Police are in the initial stages of investigating a suspect for involvement in a criminal offense. The suspect has not been indicted. Police arrange for a lineup, but don't provide counsel for the defendant. In the course of conducting the lineup, police followed certain procedures that were highly suggestive to the witness called upon to participate in the lineup. Given this scenario, _____.

A) no constitutional violation occurred
B) a Sixth Amendment violation occurred, because police failed to provide an attorney
C) a Fifth Amendment violation occurred, because of the suggestive nature of the process
D) both Fifth and Sixth Amendment violations occurred

Question 10

If an accused requests assistance of his or her own counsel at a confrontation, how does this impact the process?

A) The confrontation must be delayed until the accused's attorney is present regardless of how long that may take.
B) The confrontation must be delayed until an attorney familiar with the case is present.
C) The confrontation may proceed without delay if the accused's attorney cannot be present in time.
D) The confrontation must be delayed until substitute counsel can be present if the accused's own attorney cannot be present.

Question 11

An officer conducting a lineup should allow the defense attorney at the lineup to do all but which of the following?

A) take notes
B) observe all the proceedings
C) control any part of the proceedings
D) tape record the proceedings

Question 12

By which of the following may a suspect waive the right to counsel at the confrontation?

A) only by signing the waiver form
B) even if they refuse to sign the waiver form
C) only with counsel present
D) without counsel present only if they initiate discussion

Question 13

Police want to require a person who is not in custody to appear in a lineup. Which statement best describes the current state of the law with respect to this situation?

A) Police must issue a summons and allow the individual to be accompanied by his or her attorney.
B) There are no circumstances under which individuals who are not in custody can be compelled to participate.
C) Police are permitted to conduct such a lineup only if double-blind procedures are followed.
D) It is usually accomplished by order of a court or grand jury, although some states have enacted statutes that create special procedures for doing so.

Question 14

Given the causes of misidentification, the United States Supreme Court has held that identifications that occur under questionable circumstances should _____.

A) be reviewed carefully by the courts for admission
B) not be admitted in court
C) always undergo a pretrial discovery hearing process
D) be admitted regardless in court for a jury to decide the validity of same

Question 15

Eyewitness identification is complicated by the fact that people can easily change many of their facial characteristics, such as hair style, presence or absence of facial hair, and hair color. These are called _____ characteristics.

A) confirmation
B) confabulation
C) reifying
D) malleable

Question 16

A lineup should be conducted _____.

A) as close to trial as practicable
B) as soon after arrest as practicable
C) as close to arraignment as practicable
D) as soon after indictment as practicable.

Question 17

Many of the issues that make eyewitness identifications problematic are not capable of control by the police. However, there are certain practices police can follow to reduce the likelihood of error in eyewitness identification. Most of these practices focus on _____.

A) improving police investigation techniques so that police will not have to extensively rely on eyewitness accounts
B) decreasing the suggestibility to witnesses that is inherent in many police practices
C) limiting recorded information so that there is no record of police procedure that can be challenged
D) identifying and firing or otherwise punishing police officers who purposefully violate policies

Question 18

In a criminal prosecution the accused has a Sixth Amendment right to _____.

A) assistance of counsel at all times
B) silence at all times
C) assistance of counsel at all critical stages
D) due process of law

Question 19

What is the generic term applied to any type of presentation of a suspect in person to a victim to identify the perpetrator?

A) confrontation
B) showup
C) lineup
D) booking

Question 20

The Yerkes-Dodson law posits perception and memory are at their best when the person is experiencing a(n) _____ level of stress.

A) extremely high
B) high
C) medium
D) low

Question 21

How are the courts likely to handle instances where a criminal defendant shows that a police identification procedure was suggestive?

A) automatically exclude the results of the procedure
B) exclude the results only after weighing the suggestibility evidence against factors indicative of reliability
C) admit the evidence unless defendant can show definitive harm
D) admit the evidence unless the defendant has no civil law recourse

Question 22

In _____, different memory images may become combined or confused with one another.

A) unconscious retrieval
B) transference confusion
C) unconscious transference
D) subconscious retrieval

Question 23

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. How is such a situation likely to be viewed by the courts?

A) This procedure is recommended.
B) This procedure is a violation of the defendant's rights.
C) This procedure is not recommended but is lawful.
D) The choice to use this procedure is up to the victim.

Question 24

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?

A) an on-scene showup immediately after a warrantless arrest
B) a lineup held immediately after initial appearance
C) a showup held immediately after preliminary hearing
D) a lineup held immediately after indictment

Question 25

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.

Question 26

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

Question 27

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 the five?

A) accuracy of the witness's prior description of the criminal
B) length of time between the crime and the confrontation
C) witness's degree of attention
D) time of day the crime occurred

Question 28

What do data from The Innocence Project suggest is the leading cause of wrongful conviction in United States courts?

A) use of improper forensic techniques
B) eyewitness misidentification
C) false confessions
D) unreliable informants

Question 29

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

Question 30

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

Question 31

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

Question 32

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.

Question 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

Select the true statement about the proper procedures for conducting a lineup.

A) Multiple suspects should appear in a lineup.
B) Eyewitnesses should state in their own words how certain they are of any identification they make.
C) A minimum of three people should appear in a lineup; five to seven people is preferable.
D) Simultaneous viewing of all participants, rather than sequential viewing of one after another, is preferable.

Question 36

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.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT true of perception?

A) Memory is dependent on perception.
B) Perception is a highly selective "interpretive" process.
C) Perception is dependent upon the accuracy of physical senses, but not upon psychological processes.
D) One of the most important factors that impact our ability to perceive is the sheer volume of sensory stimulation we receive.

Question 38

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

A) acquisition
B) confabulation
C) unconscious transference
D) retention

Question 39

Persons in a lineup may _____.

A) refuse to wear the clothing worn by the perpetrator
B) be required to utter the words used by the perpetrator
C) be of obviously different races
D) refuse to be photographed

Question 40

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.

Question 41

Briefly discuss the problems that may be associated with multiple line-ups or photo arrays.

Question 42

When sensory acquisition is incomplete because a person is overwhelmed with too much information in too short a period of time, _______________ has occurred.

Question 43

Explain what, if any, affect that cultural bias or personal prejudices may affect memory.

Question 44

The generic term which means any type of presentation of a suspect in person to a victim to identify the perpetrator is __________.

Question 45

Briefly explain what is meant by cross-racial identification bias.

Question 46

A(n) __________ line-up or photo array occurs when neither the witness nor the person administering the lineup or photo array knows who the suspect is or who the foils are.

Question 47

The people who appear in a lineup or photo array other than the suspect are called __________.

Question 48

Describe the differences between a lineup and a showup.

Question 49

Perception and memory function optimally when there is only a moderate amount of stress, a principle referred to as the __________ law.

Question 50

Explain why the presence of counsel is required at a pretrial confrontation with witnesses conducted after the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings.

Question 51

Describe the first stage of the memory acquisition, or encoding, process.

Question 52

Explain the concept of incomplete sensory acquisition.

Question 53

An eyewitness is much more likely to identify accurately someone of his or her own race than someone of a different race. This is called __________ bias.

Question 54

A __________ error is a belief that events that were imagined were actually perceived.

Question 55

The Supreme Court held in Stovall v. Denno (1967) that due process forbids any pretrial identification procedure that is unnecessarily suggestive and conducive to __________ mistaken identification.

Question 56

Describe what is meant by sensory overload.

Question 57

Give two examples that the courts have stated that may be prejudicial when presenting a photo array to a victim of a crime.

Question 58

The process of _____ is highly selective and is as dependent upon psychological factors as it is on physical senses because it is an "interpretive process."

Question 59

Memory fades fairly rapidly immediately following the event, a phenomenon referred to as the __________.

Question 60

Name three of the five factors in Neil v. Biggers, 1972, that the court stated should be considered in evaluating the likelihood of misidentification.