Citing the vagaries of human memory and a host of other factors, the state Supreme Court on Wednesday changed the rules for trial judges and juries considering eyewitness identification of suspects in criminal cases.
The Court, adhering largely to recommendations made by a special master last June, held in State v. Henderson, A-8-08, that the standard for evaluating eyewitness identification that has been in use for 34 years can no longer be relied on, because it does not take into account the possible factors that could lead an eyewitness — even one absolutely sure in his or her own mind that an identification is accurate — to be completely wrong.
