Mistaken identity occurs when police, witnesses, or prosecutors identify the wrong person as the individual who committed an offense. The defendant may have no connection to the crime at all, yet find themselves facing arrest, charges, and prosecution because someone believed that they were the perpetrator.
What makes these cases particularly difficult is that mistaken identifications usually don’t involve dishonesty; a witness can be entirely sincere, cooperative, and confident in their identification and still be wrong.
Mistaken identity can significantly affect investigations and prosecutions of crimes where the perpetrator’s identity is a central issue. For this reason, it is essential to first understand how identifications in a criminal case are obtained and how they can go wrong.
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How Does Eyewitness Identification Work?
When the identity of a person who committed a crime is an issue in a criminal case, law enforcement typically relies on one or more formal identification procedures.
Several methods may become part of the record:
- Photo arrays: A witness is shown several photographs, usually six or more, and asked whether they recognize anyone as being involved in the offense.
- Live lineups: The witness views several people in person, typically through one-way glass, and is asked whether the perpetrator is present.
- Show-ups: Police present a single suspect to a witness, often shortly after the alleged crime and near the scene, and ask whether this is the person the witness saw.
- In-court identification: A witness identifies the defendant during court proceedings, often by pointing to the person seated at the defense table.
Each of these procedures can produce reliable evidence when conducted properly, and each can produce a mistaken identification when it is not.
How Does Mistaken Identity Happen in a Criminal Case?
Mistaken identity is rarely the result of a single error. It generally develops from a combination of factors present at the time of the crime, during the investigation, or in the identification procedure itself.
Common contributing factors include:
- Poor viewing conditions: Darkness, distance, obstructions, and brief encounters limit how much a witness can actually perceive and remember.
- Stress and fear: Crimes are frightening, and stress is known to impair memory accuracy.
- Weapon focus: When a weapon is present, witnesses tend to fix their attention on it rather than on the perpetrator’s face.
- Cross-racial identification: Research has consistently shown that people are less accurate when identifying individuals of a different race than their own.
- Suggestive procedures. A lineup in which the suspect stands out, or officers’ comments that signal who the “right” answer is, can shape what a witness believes they remember.
- Memory contamination. Exposure to media coverage, social media photos, or conversations with other witnesses can alter a witness’s memory of the original event without the witness realizing it.
Several of these factors can occur together, significantly affecting their memory. By the time the case reaches trial, the witness’s memory of the photo array may have replaced their memory of the actual event, and their confidence may have grown even though the underlying observation never improved.
How Can a Criminal Defense Lawyer Challenge a Mistaken Identification?
An identification, no matter how confident a witness seems, is just one piece of the case. It’s often considered strong evidence, but there are still ways to challenge it. A criminal defense lawyer can attack a mistaken identification in several ways.
Investigating How the Identification Was Obtained
The first step is usually a thorough investigation of the identification procedure itself. The defense can demand to see the exact photo array used, records or recordings of the lineup, and reports documenting what officers said to the witness.
Counsel will look for problems such as a suspect whose photo stands out from the others, fillers who do not match the witness’s original description, an officer who knew which person was the suspect and administered the procedure anyway, or feedback that confirmed the witness’s choice and inflated their confidence.
Moving to Suppress a Suggestive Identification
When a procedure was unnecessarily suggestive, the defense can file a motion to suppress the identification before trial. If the court finds that the procedure created a substantial likelihood of misidentification, the identification may be excluded, and in some circumstances, the witness may be barred from identifying the defendant in court as well.
Cross-Examining the Eyewitness
Cross-examination allows the defense to expose the gap between a witness’s confidence and the quality of their actual observation. A lawyer can establish how briefly the witness saw the perpetrator, the lighting and distance involved, whether a weapon drew the witness’s attention away from the offender’s face, and how much time passed before the identification was made.
Comparing the witness’s original description to the defendant’s actual appearance is often helpful when discrepancies arise.
Presenting Expert Testimony on Memory and Perception
In appropriate cases, the defense can call an expert witness to explain the science of memory to the jury. An expert can describe how stress, weapon focus, cross-racial identification, and suggestive procedures affect accuracy, and can explain why a witness’s confidence at trial is a poor indicator of whether the original identification was correct.
Presenting Alibi Evidence
Challenging the identification is only part of the strategy; a lawyer can also present evidence that the accused was somewhere else or that someone else committed the offense. Alibi witnesses, cell phone location records, surveillance footage, receipts, and work records can place the defendant away from the scene at the time of the alleged crime.
Depending on the facts, your lawyer will find ways to challenge the identification and other aspects of the case.
Contact the Dayton Criminal Defense Lawyers at Suhre & Associates DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Being identified as the perpetrator of a crime you did not commit is a frightening experience, but a lawyer can help fight back. Don’t assume that just because someone says you did something, you are automatically facing a conviction. These cases can be challenged, and we have the experience to do this.
If you or a loved one has been accused of an offense based on mistaken identity, contact Suhre & Associates DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyers at (937) 531-0435 to schedule a free consultation with a Dayton criminal defense lawyer.