A HEARING is not necessary before allowing expert testimony on eyewitness identifications, nor is a jury instruction a sufficient substitute for such testimony, a Manhattan judge has ruled in allowing a psychologist to testify in a robbery trial.
Supreme Court Justice James A. Yates, ruling May 15 in People v. Anthony Smith, 4825/01, rejected prosecutors’ request for a Frye hearing to determine if research on the impact of stress, violence, cross-racial impact and exposure time on eyewitness identifications has been generally accepted in the scientific community.
