Sunday, December 23, 2018

QUORA QUESTION: How do lawyers evaluate the truthfulness of eye witness testimony?

At a bare minimum, you should look at the demeanor of the witness, the inherent probability of the account, any internal inconsistencies in the account, whether the account is consistent with previous statements by the witness, whether the witness has any bias against the accused or any family or group to which the accused belongs, whether the evidence at the crime scene supports the account, and whether the witness’s testimony is supported by the testimony of other witnesses. Uncorroborated eyewitness testimony is highly suspect. Most DNA exonerations in wrongful conviction cases come from convictions based on uncorroborated eyewitness testimony.