| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to eyewitness identification; providing a |
| 3 | short title; providing legislative findings; requiring |
| 4 | state and local law enforcement agencies to establish and |
| 5 | implement written policies and procedures addressing |
| 6 | eyewitness identification; specifying the requirements of |
| 7 | the policies and procedures; requiring state and local law |
| 8 | enforcement agencies to submit such policies and |
| 9 | procedures to the state attorney by a specified date; |
| 10 | requiring the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association to |
| 11 | develop draft jury instructions by a specified date to be |
| 12 | submitted to the Supreme Court for consideration; |
| 13 | requiring the Criminal Justice Standards and Training |
| 14 | Commission and the Department of Law Enforcement to create |
| 15 | and make available to state and local law enforcement |
| 16 | agencies educational materials and training programs |
| 17 | regarding the standards for eyewitness identification |
| 18 | procedures and practices in compliance with the act; |
| 19 | requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to |
| 20 | provide eyewitness identification procedures training to |
| 21 | their law enforcement personnel; providing an effective |
| 22 | date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Section 1. Eyewitness identification.- |
| 27 | (1) This section may be cited as the "2011 Eyewitness |
| 28 | Identification Policies Act." |
| 29 | (2) The Legislature finds that it is critical to establish |
| 30 | appropriate standards for the effective administration of live |
| 31 | lineups and photograph arrays in an effort to promote accurate |
| 32 | and reliable eyewitness identification and to minimize the |
| 33 | possibility of erroneous eyewitness identifications. |
| 34 | (3) Each state and local law enforcement agency shall |
| 35 | establish and implement written policies and procedures |
| 36 | addressing eyewitness identification. The policies and |
| 37 | procedures must include, at a minimum, the following: |
| 38 | (a) A description of how live lineups and photograph |
| 39 | arrays will be created and conducted to maintain the neutrality |
| 40 | and impartiality of the identification process. |
| 41 | (b) A standard set of instructions that the witness must |
| 42 | be given before reviewing the live lineup or photograph array |
| 43 | which includes the following: |
| 44 | 1. The person of interest might or might not be in the |
| 45 | lineup or photograph array; |
| 46 | 2. The witness is not required to make an identification; |
| 47 | 3. It is as important to exclude innocent persons as it is |
| 48 | to identify the perpetrators; and |
| 49 | 4. The investigation will continue with or without an |
| 50 | identification. |
| 51 | (c) A description of how an eyewitness will indicate that |
| 52 | a positive identification has been made. |
| 53 | (d) A description of how an eyewitness will acknowledge |
| 54 | receipt of the instructions outlined in paragraph (b). |
| 55 | (e) A description of any other documentation requirements |
| 56 | deemed necessary by the agency to conduct live lineups or |
| 57 | photograph arrays. |
| 58 | (4) Each state and local law enforcement agency must |
| 59 | submit such policies and procedures to its respective state |
| 60 | attorney by November 1, 2011. Each state attorney shall maintain |
| 61 | the policies and procedures submitted to him or her. |
| 62 | (5) By July 1, 2011, the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys |
| 63 | Association shall develop draft jury instructions regarding |
| 64 | evaluating eyewitness identification testimony in criminal cases |
| 65 | and forward such jury instructions to the appropriate Supreme |
| 66 | Court committee for consideration. |
| 67 | (6) The Criminal Justice Standards and Training |
| 68 | Commission, in consultation with the Department of Law |
| 69 | Enforcement, shall create and make available educational |
| 70 | materials and training programs regarding the minimum standards |
| 71 | for eyewitness identification procedures and practices described |
| 72 | in subsection (3) to state and local law enforcement agencies. |
| 73 | Each state and local law enforcement agency shall provide |
| 74 | eyewitness identification procedures training to its law |
| 75 | enforcement personnel. |
| 76 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |