Also known as: identification procedure · eyewitness identification · lineup procedures
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Corporeal displays arranged by law enforcement to allow witnesses to identify a suspect as the perpetrator of a crime. Post-indictment lineups and showups constitute critical stages at which the Sixth Amendment guarantees the presence of counsel.
Isaiah Ishikawa was indicted for assault. Detectives then assembled a group of ten performers for a dimly lit theater viewing by departing eyewitnesses. No notice reached Isaiah's lawyer. The witnesses identified Isaiah. The identification is subject to suppression because the post-indictment corporeal procedure occurred without counsel.
Iris Irons was indicted for theft. Investigators arranged a station-house showup the next day with a key witness viewing Iris among employees. Counsel received no notice and was excluded. The resulting identification requires suppression as the procedure took place after formal charging without the presence of counsel.
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Isaac Irving was convicted after a post-indictment lineup identification. On federal habeas he argued the identification violated the right to counsel. The court examined whether the claim was cognizable under the limits on collateral review of state convictions.
Isabella Ingram faced conspiracy charges. A witness identified her from a post-indictment corporeal display arranged by investigators. The defense sought to exclude the identification on grounds tied to the absence of counsel at the critical stage.
Ira Irving was tried for a sexual offense. A lineup identification occurred after indictment without counsel present. The defense raised confrontation objections tied to the identification evidence introduced at trial.
Ines Ibarra sought to apply a new rule on counsel at post-indictment lineups to her earlier conviction. The court assessed whether the rule announced a watershed change that would apply retroactively on collateral review.
The right attaches once formal adversary proceedings begin by indictment or similar charging document. Post-indictment lineups and showups are critical stages requiring counsel. Photographic arrays never trigger the right because they occur outside the defendant's presence.
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Yes. The right turns on the initiation of adversarial proceedings and the government's arrangement of a corporeal display for identification, not on labels such as administrative or the location chosen by investigators.
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A waiver must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary under the totality of the circumstances. Police encouragement to proceed without waiting for counsel, combined with the absence of a specific written waiver addressing the lineup right, typically renders the waiver invalid.
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A single-photograph display receives due-process scrutiny for unnecessary suggestiveness and reliability under the totality of the circumstances. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not apply because the procedure is not a critical stage.
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…this system, at least as it presently operates, to police investigations and would not require counsel's presence at pretrial identification procedures. Counsel's interest is in not having his client placed at the scene of the crime, regardless of his whereabouts. Some counsel may advise their clients to refuse to make any movements or to…