Eyewitness Identification Reform Act Extended to Show-Ups

Effective December 1, S.L. 2015-212 extends the Eyewitness Identification Reform Act, G.S. 15A-284.52, to cover show-ups. But the bill leaves the status of photographic show-ups in doubt and contains a strange provision regarding law enforcement officers as eyewitnesses. This post unpacks the new law. Prior law: show-ups not covered. Originally enacted in 2007, the Act established procedures for “live lineup[s]” and “photo lineup[s],” procedures that involve the display of multiple people or photographs to an eyewitness. Show-ups involve the display of a single person or photograph to an eyewitness, so they weren’t covered by the Act. The court of appeals so ruled in State v. Rawls, 207 N.C. App. 415 (2010). New law: show-ups covered. The amended Act will apply to show-ups, defined as “[a] procedure in which an eyewitness is presented with a single live suspect for the purpose of determining whether the eyewitness is able to identify the perpetrator of a crime.” Rules for show-ups. The rules for show-ups are not the same as those for lineups. The basic rules are: Show-ups are allowed only under limited circumstances. Show-ups are permitted only “when a suspect matching the description of the perpetrator is located in close proximity in time and place to the crime, or there is reasonable belief that the perpetrator has changed his or her appearance in close time to the crime, and only if there are circumstances that require the immediate display of a suspect to an eyewitness.” This provision seems to be based on the due [...]