A trial court erred by not granting a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained through a “showup” identification, in which a criminal suspect is presented in person to a victim or witness of a crime, an appellate court said in ordering a new trial.
A 3-1 majority of the Appellate Division, Second Department, panel held in People v. James, 382/11, that the use of showup identification by Newburgh police to arrest Kenyatta James on suspicion of robbing a woman at knifepoint was “unduly suggestive” and that Orange County Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Berry should have granted James’ motion to suppress identification testimony.
