People v. Radcliffe

In People v. Radcliffe (191 Misc 2d 545 [Sup Ct, Bronx County 2002]), Judge William C. Donnino concluded that " until the law of New York settles on the parameters of expert identification testimony, the application for the admission of such testimony should be made pre-trial because the trial court may need to conduct a hearing" to determine the issues. He further explained that the proponent of such evidence should: "(1) to the extent known set forth the pertinent alleged facts of the identification and any corroborative evidence; (2) set forth the names and qualifications of the witness and the 'proffered' testimony; (3) correlate the proffered testimony with the facts of the case to demonstrate the relevance of the expert testimony; (4) explain whether the testimony involves 'novel scientific theories and techniques,' and if it does, include an offer of proof as to its general acceptance by the relevant scientific community; and (5) explain why the testimony is warranted if an existing standard jury instruction (CJI[NY]2d Identification--One Witness [2001]) would appear to cover the area of the proffered expert testimony."