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a-8-08.opn.html
presented to a witness to make an identification. Showups often occur at the
scene of a crime soon after its commission. The Special Master noted that they
are a “useful -- and necessary -- technique when used in appropriate
circumstances,” but they carry their “own risks of misidentifications.”
By their nature, showups are suggestive and cannot be performed blind
or double-blind. Nonetheless, as the Special Master found, “the risk of
misidentification is not heightened if a showup is conducted immediately after
the witnessed event, ideally within two hours” because “the benefits of a fresh
memory seem to balance the risks of undue suggestion.”
We have previously found showups to be “inherently suggestive,” see
Herrera, supra, 187 N.J. at 504, and other states have limited the admissibility
of showup identifications. In Wisconsin, evidence of a showup is inadmissible
unless, based on the totality of circumstances, the showup was necessary. State
v. Dubose, 699 N.W.2d 582, 584-85 (Wis. 2005). Courts in Massachusetts
require that there be “good reason for the use of a showup.” Commonwealth v.
Martin, 850 N.E.2d 555, 562-63 (Mass. 2006). In New York, showups at police
stations are presumptively suggestive and are suppressed “unless exigency
warrants otherwise.” State v. Duuvon, 571 N.E.2d 654, 656 (N.Y. 1991)
(citations omitted).
Studies that have evaluated showup identifications illustrate that the
timeframe for their reliability appears relatively small. A Canadian field
experiment that analyzed results from more than 500 identifications revealed
that photo showups performed within minutes of an encounter were just as
accurate as lineups. A. Daniel Yarmey et al., Accuracy of Eyewitness
Identifications in Showups and Lineups, 20 Law & Hum. Behav. 459, 464
(1996). Two hours after the encounter, though, 58% of witnesses failed to reject
an “innocent suspect” in a photo showup, as compared to 14% in target-absent
photo lineups. Ibid.
Researchers have also found that “false identifications are more
numerous for showups [compared to lineups] when an innocent suspect
resembles the perpetrator.” See Nancy Steblay et al., Eyewitness Accuracy Rates
in Police Showup and Lineup Presentations: A Meta-Analytic Comparison, 27
Law & Hum. Behav. 523, 523 (2003) (conducting meta-analysis). In addition,
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