United States v. Hodges
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
515 F.2d 650 (1975)
Hodges (defendant) was tried in federal court for illegal possession of a stolen public assistance check, and the government's case rested almost entirely on three witnesses who identified him as the person who tried to cash it. Hodges requested a jury instruction specifically addressing identification as the central issue and requiring acquittal absent proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but the trial court refused to give it. The jury convicted him, and he appealed the refusal.
Whether a trial judge commits reversible error by refusing a requested jury instruction on eyewitness identification, requiring acquittal absent proof beyond a reasonable doubt, when identification is the central issue in the case.