7th Circuit Upholds Exclusion of Testimony on Eyewitness Identification

The Seventh Circuit has published an opinion upholding the trial court's decision excluding expert testimony on behalf of a bank robbery defendant on the reliability of eyewitness identification. The parties agreed that the expert, a psychologist, was qualified and relied on scientifically valid methodology. The only issue was whether his testimony would assist the jury. The panel concluded that average jurors would not require an expert's assistance to understand the risk that misidentification could occur because two persons wore similar clothing, or to grasp the principle that human memory fades over time. The court emphasized that it was not establishing a per se rule against expert testimony on eyewitness identification, but merely upholding a discretionary ruling in this particular case, in which the eyewitness had known the defendant for a substantial period of time. See United States v. Welch, No. 03-3638 (7th Cir. May 27, 2004) (Flaum, Manion, & Rovner, JJ.).