Lineups, Showups, Undercover Buys, and G.S. 15A-284.52

In 2007, the General Assembly enacted the Eyewitness Identification Reform Act, G.S. 15A-284.50 et seq.  The heart of the Act is G.S. 15A-284.52, which lays out rules for conducting lineups, whether live, i.e., involving the actual suspect and several other fillers, or by photo array, i.e., involving a picture of the suspect and several other fillers.  (As an interesting sidebar, I've taught about the Act to several groups of officers, and of the 100+ officers I've talked to, only two or three have ever conducted a live lineup.  Apparently, it's just too difficult to find appropriate fillers, especially in smaller jurisdictions, and it's a headache to ensure adequate security.) There are quite a few rules in the statute, which goes well beyond the constitutional minimum in ensuring that lineups are conducted in a manner that is not suggestive. Yet the question that I am asked the most often doesn't have to do with any of the specific procedures set out in the statute.  Instead, it has to do with whether a lineup is required at all.  It usually arises as follows.  Law enforcement agency A is investigating suspected drug dealer D.  Agency A brings in an officer from another agency to make an undercover buy from D.  We'll call him officer U.  Officer U gets all dressed up, goes to D's place of business, and makes a buy.  None of the officers from agency A are able to see the transaction, because it takes place inside.  Officer U returns to agency [...]