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A Bill for Better Eyewitness ID Procedures (Week 10)

4/25/2013

2 Comments

 
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Late last month, Legal Times reporter and blogger Zoe Tillman reported on a bill that was proposed to the D.C. Council that would mandate the use of certain police-administered eyewitness identification procedures. If passed, this bill would also penalize failures to follow these procedures, failures which could adversely affect the admissibility of eyewitness evidence in courts. 

Not all parties agree with the proposal, though. Assistant U.S. attorney Patricia Riley, for instance, says that certain procedures, such as the "double-blind" lineup where both the investigator and the witness are blind to the identity of the suspect,  will not necessarily improve existing procedures.  Indeed, studies have generally been inconclusive on the effectiveness of the "double-blind" procedure. However, researchers have criticized field studies that find "double-blind" lineups less or equally effective to normal lineups. They argue that some of these studies are confounded because they do not appropriately control for certain variables. For example, the Illinois field study in 2006 compares the performance of police departments that use both "double-blind" and sequential lineup procedures to departments that do not use either procedure. Other arguments against the proposal of this bill come from members of law enforcement, who say that it would be difficult for police to adjust to new practices if best practices were to change in the future. 

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The most important thing I learned from my researching/writing experience this week is that I really should not procrastinate. As I approach the end of the semester, it is really time for me to stay on top of things and be organized. That is why I am planning on printing out all of my annotations, or at least reorganizing them on my computer so that I have a clear view of what information I have and what information I still need to find to write my final paper. I am a bit hesitant on spending even more money (and wasting trees!) printing out physical copies, but I think being able to shuffle notes and pieces of information around will be beneficial to me. 

I hope you will continue to read my blog as I complete my annotations and finally, my research paper. Have a wonderful weekend! 
2 Comments
Vanessa link
4/26/2013 11:00:39 am

Hi Eureka,
I think it’s great that you have found some updated information on your topic! I think this is a useful habit we’ve learned during the course of the class, given how essential and important it is to do so. It’s interesting how this proposal can affect eyewitness procedures. I should look more into your topic because it’s something that’s not often heard of in the news, but it’s certainly a growing problem. I also wonder why policemen are against the issue, beside that this procedure could be difficult to adjust to. Do they have other justifications?
As for your skill, I think this class is hard to procrastinate to. There is so much to do and it gets to a point where you find yourself working on it every day. I think that printing out all of your annotations is helpful to keep track of what you need to include in your paper, but I’m not sure if this would make it easier or save you time. Unless, of course, you want to print the annotations to edit them before we turn them in? Professor Thompson handed out check-off sheets earlier in the semester, which has helped me keep track of everything and it’s been incredibly helpful. Sometimes, I also skim my annotations over and over or use the navigation box to search for key terms that would be useful for my paper.
Good luck!
-Vanessa

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Carrie link
4/29/2013 04:02:03 am

Hey Eureka,

It sounds like you found a good story about the bill proposed to the D.C. City Council. It's always exciting to find a story about your info topic I'm sure, and it's even better that Zoe Tillman's article was published so recently! I like that you consider all of the different perspectives of the proposed bill--it's really important to examine all sides to be fair.

I totally agree with you in terms of not wanting to to procrastinate any more. I need to get on top of all of my annotations soon so I can start editing! We're so close though. So stay positive and enjoy the sunshine (even if you do so by gazing out of the window from inside the library)! Good luck :)

Best,

Carrie

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