Manson v. Brathwaite

In Manson v. Brathwaite (1977) 432 U.S. 98, the court stressed that " reliability is the linchpin in determining the admissibility of identification testimony . . . ." In determining the all important question, the court set forth a balancing test composed of various factors: (1) the opportunity of the witness to view the criminal at the time of the crime; (2) the witness' degree of attention; (3) the accuracy of the prior description of the criminal; (4) the level of certainty demonstrated at the identification; (5) the time between the crime and the identification; and (6) the first five items were to be weighed against the corrupting effect of the suggestive identification itself. (432 U.S. at pp. 114-116.) Finally, the court stressed that short of a likelihood of irreparable misidentification, the question is for the jury: "Juries are not so susceptible that they cannot measure intelligently the weight of identification testimony that has some questionable feature." (432 U.S. at p. 116.)