United States v. Hines
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
55 F. Supp. 2d 62 (D. Mass. 1999)
Johannes Hines (defendant) was charged with robbing a bank, and the case against him rested principally on the eyewitness identification made by the teller who was robbed. Hines sought to call an expert, Saul Kassin, to testify about factors known to affect identification accuracy, including cross-racial identification, the effect of time on memory, stress during the event, and suggestive identification procedures. The prosecution opposed admitting the expert testimony.
Whether a defense expert may testify about scientific research on the factors affecting eyewitness identification accuracy, or whether such testimony improperly usurps the jury's role in assessing witness credibility.