Legal Question in Criminal Law in Maryland

my son was arrested on uuv and receiving stolen goods in washington dc. and he is 17 years old and never had a record.he got this car from some boys in our community. we found out that the car was carjacked 2 days before he was arrested in maryland. when we went to court the spanish guy that was car jacked came to testify that he did not give him permission to drive the car. left out the court room then we went on break. outside the court room the prosecuter came out and asked him if he reconized anyone in the courtroom he said yes,my son was the only defendant in the court room. is it legal to do an identifacation without a line up?


Asked on 9/02/09, 1:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Welch William L. Welch, III Attorney

In order to suppress an identification, a defendant must show that it was suggestive to the point of being unreliable. It is also suggestive if a later identification is based on an earlier unreliable identification.

Expert testimony about misidentification can be helpful too. Several scholars have written about how misidentification happens.

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Answered on 9/07/09, 3:18 pm


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