comment sketchy eyewitness-identification ... - UW Law School

MCNAMARA - FINAL 5/20/2009 5:17 PM
788 WISCONSIN LAW REVIEW
observation.” 158 Some witnesses may not have enough visual
information to produce a reliable likeness, yet social pressures may
result in the witness attempting to build a composite anyway. 159 Police
may overlook a witness’s sketchy memory because of pressure to solve
the crime. 160 Similarly, witnesses may believe they saw details they did
not because of pressure to be helpful to the investigation. 161 Further,
regardless of social influences, all memories are subject to
contamination by information acquired after the event. 162 All of these
factors combined indicate that any facial composite will deviate in some
respects from the culprit, and in some cases significantly enough such
that they are no longer useful tools for investigation.
2. EFFECT OF FACIAL COMPOSITES ON SUBSEQUENT IDENTIFICATIONS
Not only are facial composites poor indicators of the likeness of a
culprit, they also have the potential to taint the memory of the
eyewitness who helped to create the composite. Findings from recent
studies show that the image of a composite either replaces or blends
with the original image in the memory of the eyewitness. 163 This has an
effect on a witness’s ability to accurately identify the culprit in a later
identification procedure, such as a lineup. 164
Memories, like physical trace evidence, can be tainted or decay
over time. 165 Retrieval of memories is influenced not only by the
158. Christgau, supra note 82, at 42.
159. See Clifford & Davies, supra note 56, at 66–67; Woocher, supra note 35,
at 988–89.
160. See Findley & Scott, supra note 17, at 322–27 (describing institutional
pressures on police to solve cases quickly). Forensic artists often express an emotional
connection to their work and strong desire to help catch culprits; this may affect their
ability to impartially evaluate the quality of a witness’s description. See TAYLOR, supra
note 17, at Preface (“One image can literally be responsible for the recovery of a
precious stolen child, stopping a serial rapist or murderer, or providing closure for the
family who has lost a loved one to homicide.”); Lori Consalvo, Sketching Out ‘Evil,’
INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULL. (Ont., Can.), Aug. 17, 2008 (describing an artist who
carries around the sketch he made of a man wanted for sexually assaulting and killing
several people, explaining that “[i]f I really want to remind myself why I do this, I need
to have an image of evil”); Poole, supra note 136 (describing one artist who is reduced
to occasional tears when discussing the cases she has helped solve).
161. See Woocher, supra note 35, at 981.
162. See David F. Hall et al., Postevent Information and Changes in
Recollection for a Natural Event, in EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY: PSYCHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES 124, 126–27 (Gary L. Wells & Elizabeth F. Loftus eds., 1984); Loftus et
al., supra note 38, at 28.
163. See Wells et al., supra note 76, at 148–49, 154–55.
164. Id.
165. See supra text accompanying notes 37–46.