Also known as: photo arrays · photo-array · photoarray · photographic array · photo lineup · photographic lineup · photo identification
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An identification procedure in which law enforcement presents a witness with a collection of photographs containing a suspect among fillers. The procedure occurs outside the defendant's presence and does not constitute a critical stage of prosecution. Due process challenges remain available if the array is unnecessarily suggestive and creates a substantial likelihood of misidentification.
After formal charges, mall security showed Lena a screen of booking photos without notifying Pedro Pacheco's attorney. Lena identified Pacheco as the jewelry thief she had glimpsed. The court denied Pacheco's motion to suppress because the photo array did not require counsel's presence.
Police showed three witnesses photo arrays that included Kyles among other men. Each witness selected Kyles without hesitation. The identifications later became central to the prosecution's case at trial.
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Police presented Biggers with an array of photographs after a rape. The victim identified him at trial months later. The Court examined whether the procedure created a substantial likelihood of misidentification under the totality of circumstances.
Police showed Perry an arranged photo array at the station. Perry argued the identification was unreliable. The Court held that due process scrutiny applies only when police arranged the suggestive circumstances.
Officers arrested Moore without probable cause and later showed a witness his photograph. The witness identified Moore at a subsequent lineup. The Court held that the in-court identification need not be suppressed solely because the photo array followed an unlawful detention.
After viewing a photo array, a suspect in custody made incriminating statements to officers. The statements were later offered at trial. The Court analyzed whether the officers' words constituted interrogation under the Fifth Amendment.
No. The right to counsel attaches at critical stages involving live confrontations where the accused is present. A photo array shown to a witness outside the defendant's presence is not a critical stage, so counsel need not attend even after formal charges.
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Suppression is proper only if the procedure was unnecessarily suggestive and created a substantial likelihood of misidentification under the totality of the circumstances. Reliability factors such as the witness's opportunity to view and certainty at the time of identification are weighed against any suggestiveness.
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No. The in-court identification is not automatically excluded as fruit of an illegal arrest. The witness's independent recollection can support admission even if the defendant's presence in the array resulted from unlawful detention.
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Yes. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel has not yet attached before adversarial proceedings begin. A pre-charge photo array therefore does not require defense counsel even if another attorney is permitted to observe.
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…compared to any of the fingerprints found. Tr. 97 (Dec. 6, 1984). The lead detective on the case, John Dillman, put together a photo lineup that included a photograph of Kyles (but not of Beanie) and showed the array to five of the six eyewitnesses who had given statements. Three of them picked the photograph of Kyles; the…