In Neil v. Biggers (1972) the Court determined that identification procedures must be fair|Course hero helper

Posted: February 25th, 2023

In Neil v. Biggers (1972) the Court determined that identification procedures must be fair. To determine whether the procedures were fair, courts must consider all the circumstances leading to the identification. Discuss what circumstances should be considered in determining fairness. Why are these circumstances important in determining the fairness of an identification procedure?

SOLUTION

In Neil v. Biggers (1972), the US Supreme Court established that the fairness of an identification procedure must be determined by considering all the circumstances surrounding the identification. These circumstances include the witness’s opportunity to view the perpetrator at the time of the crime, the witness’s degree of attention, the accuracy of the witness’s prior description of the perpetrator, the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the time of the identification, and the length of time between the crime and the identification.