United States v. Owens

A prison counselor suffered a skull fracture in an assault and, weeks later, identified Owens (defendant) from a photo array as his attacker, though by the time of trial he could no longer remember the circumstances of that identification or recall any visitors besides the FBI agent who first questioned him in the hospital; Owens tried unsuccessfully to refresh the counselor's memory with hospital records suggesting he had once identified someone else. The jury convicted Owens, but the court of appeals reversed, finding the counselor's testimony lacked sufficient indicia of reliability, and the government sought Supreme Court review.