Challenging eyewitness IDs in court

The price is a little dear for my means, but some of you legal eagles may be interested in an event sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in New York City in March on litigating eyewitness ID testimony, a timely topic in the wake of increasingly strong evidence that faulty witness and victim identifications are the leading cause of wrongful convictions. In addition to instruction on applying cutting edge research and litigation techniques to challenge the veracity of eyewitness identification in court, the event will:

afford attendees the opportunity to forge relationships with the Eyewitness Identification Reform Litigation Network, which now has over 70 “point people” in 40 states. The Network is interested in working with the nation’s best criminal defense attorneys on pinpointing eyewitness identification cases with potential for creating favorable appellate decisions that incorporate the psychological research on identification issues and/or mandate procedural reform. As part of this endeavor, the second day of the training will include “break-out” sessions in which attorneys will workshop pre-selected cases which could become test cases for the Network’s reform litigation agenda. The training will be recorded and available via CD-ROM for CLE credit, and will be accompanied by a set of “master materials” corresponding to the topics covered.

While my guess is that neither the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals nor the Fifth Circuit are the first places the Network will seek to establish "favorable appellate decisions," we've had some cases in Texas that seem like poster children for their cause. I hope someone attends who blogs from the event. Registration information is here.

h/t: Eyewitness ID Blog