| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to eyewitness identification; providing a |
| 3 | short title; defining terms; requiring lineups conducted |
| 4 | by state, county, municipal, and other law enforcement |
| 5 | agencies to meet specified requirements; requiring an |
| 6 | eyewitness to sign an acknowledgement that he or she |
| 7 | received lineup instructions; specifying remedies for |
| 8 | failing to adhere to eyewitness identification procedures; |
| 9 | requiring the Criminal Justice Standards and Training |
| 10 | Commission to create educational materials and conduct |
| 11 | training programs on how to conduct lineups in compliance |
| 12 | with the act; providing an effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Eyewitness identification.- |
| 17 | (1) SHORT TITLE.-This section may be cited as the |
| 18 | "Eyewitness Identification Reform Act." |
| 19 | (2) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term: |
| 20 | (a) "Eyewitness" means a person whose identification by |
| 21 | sight of another person may be relevant in a criminal |
| 22 | proceeding. |
| 23 | (b) "Filler" means a person or a photograph of a person |
| 24 | who is not suspected of an offense but is included in a lineup. |
| 25 | (c) "Independent administrator" means a person who is not |
| 26 | participating in the investigation of a criminal offense and is |
| 27 | unaware of which person in the lineup is the suspect. |
| 28 | (d) "Lineup" means a photo lineup or live lineup. |
| 29 | (e) "Lineup administrator" means the person who conducts a |
| 30 | lineup. |
| 31 | (f) "Live lineup" means a procedure in which a group of |
| 32 | people is displayed to an eyewitness for the purpose of |
| 33 | determining whether the eyewitness is able to identify the |
| 34 | perpetrator of a crime. |
| 35 | (g) "Photo lineup" means a procedure in which an array of |
| 36 | photographs is displayed to an eyewitness for the purpose of |
| 37 | determining whether the eyewitness is able to identify the |
| 38 | perpetrator of a crime. |
| 39 | (3) EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURES.-Lineups |
| 40 | conducted in this state by state, county, municipal, and other |
| 41 | law enforcement agencies must meet all of the following |
| 42 | requirements: |
| 43 | (a) A lineup must be conducted by an independent |
| 44 | administrator. In lieu of using an independent administrator, a |
| 45 | photo lineup eyewitness identification procedure may be |
| 46 | conducted using an alternative method specified and approved by |
| 47 | the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission. Any |
| 48 | alternative method must be carefully structured to achieve |
| 49 | neutral administration and to prevent the administrator from |
| 50 | knowing which photograph is being presented to the eyewitness |
| 51 | during the identification procedure. Alternative methods may |
| 52 | include any of the following: |
| 53 | 1. An automated computer program that can automatically |
| 54 | administer the photo lineup directly to an eyewitness and |
| 55 | prevent the lineup administrator from seeing which photo the |
| 56 | witness is viewing until after the procedure is completed. |
| 57 | 2. A procedure in which photographs are placed in folders, |
| 58 | randomly numbered, and shuffled and then presented to an |
| 59 | eyewitness such that the lineup administrator cannot see or |
| 60 | track which photograph is being presented to the witness until |
| 61 | after the procedure is completed. |
| 62 | 3. Any other procedure that achieves neutral |
| 63 | administration. |
| 64 | (b) Before a lineup, the eyewitness shall be instructed |
| 65 | that: |
| 66 | 1. The perpetrator may or may not be in the lineup; |
| 67 | 2. The lineup administrator is unaware of which person in |
| 68 | the lineup is the suspect; |
| 69 | 3. The eyewitness should not feel compelled to make an |
| 70 | identification; |
| 71 | 4. It is as important to exclude innocent persons as it is |
| 72 | to identify the perpetrator; and |
| 73 | 5. The investigation will continue with or without an |
| 74 | identification. |
| 75 |
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| 76 | The eyewitness shall acknowledge, in writing, having received a |
| 77 | copy of the lineup instructions. If the eyewitness refuses to |
| 78 | sign a document acknowledging receipt of the instructions, the |
| 79 | lineup administrator shall indicate on the acknowledgement the |
| 80 | refusal of the eyewitness to sign the acknowledgement and then |
| 81 | sign the acknowledgement himself or herself. |
| 82 | (4) REMEDIES.-All of the following remedies are available |
| 83 | when a person does not comply with the requirements of this |
| 84 | section: |
| 85 | (a) A person's failure to comply with any requirement of |
| 86 | this section shall be: |
| 87 | 1. Considered by the court when adjudicating motions to |
| 88 | suppress eyewitness identification. |
| 89 | 2. Admissible in support of claims of eyewitness |
| 90 | misidentification as long as such evidence is otherwise |
| 91 | admissible. |
| 92 | (b) When evidence of compliance or noncompliance with any |
| 93 | requirement of this section has been presented at trial, the |
| 94 | jury shall be instructed that it may consider credible evidence |
| 95 | of compliance or noncompliance to determine the reliability of |
| 96 | eyewitness identifications. |
| 97 | (5) EDUCATION AND TRAINING.-The Criminal Justice Standards |
| 98 | and Training Commission, in consultation with the Department of |
| 99 | Law Enforcement, shall create educational materials and conduct |
| 100 | training programs on how to conduct lineups in compliance with |
| 101 | this section. |
| 102 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |