United States v. Pierce’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 federal appellate · 18 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 50 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"Although this court has not previously addressed whether lay opinion testimony identifying a defendant in surveillance photographs is admissible under Rule 701, several other circuits have held such testimony admissible in some circumstances. Because we find, as have most of those circuits, that lay opinion identification testimony may be helpful to the jury where, as here, `there is some basis for concluding that the witness is more likely to correctly identify the defendant from the photograph than is the jury,' we hold that the district court acted within its discretion in admitting identification testimony from Hammond and Hammonds. United States v. Farnsworth, 729 F.2d 1158, 1160 (8th Cir.1984); see also United States v. Jackman, 48 F.3d 1, 4-5 (1st Cir.1995) (holding lay opinion identification testimony admissible `at least when the witness possesses sufficiently relevant familiarity with the defendant that the jury cannot also possess, and when the photographs are not either so unmistakably clear or so hopelessly obscure that the witness is no better-suited than the jury to make the identification'); United States v. Robinson, 804 F.2d 280, 282 (4th Cir.1986) (`A lay witness may give an opinion concerning the identity of a person depicted in a surveillance photograph if there is some basis for concluding that the witness is more likely to correctly identify the defendant from the photograph than is the jury.'); United States v. Towns, 913 F.2d 434, 445 (7th Cir.1990) ”

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Contreras · United States v. Knowles

2. “(a) [the opinion is] rationally based on the perception of the witness and (b) [is] helpful to the clear understanding of ... the determination of a fact in issue.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bennett v. State · United States v. Elester Middlebrook

3. “"In upholding the admissibility of lay opinion identification testimony under Rule 701, courts have nevertheless recognized the danger of unfair prejudice that arises when the source of such testimony is a police, probation, or parole officer. See United States v. Calhoun, 544 F.2d 291, 296 (6th Cir.1976); United States v. Henderson, 68 F.3d 323, 327 (9th Cir.1995); United States v. Butcher, 557 F.2d 666, 669 (9th Cir.1977). Identification testimony from law enforcement or corrections personnel may increase the possibility of prejudice to the defendant either by highlighting the defendant's prior contact with the criminal justice system, if the witness's occupation is revealed to the jury, or by effectively constraining defense counsel's ability to undermine the basis for the witness's identification on cross-examination, if the witness's occupation is to remain concealed. See Calhoun, 544 F.2d at 295-96 ; Farnsworth, 729 F.2d at 1161 ; Henderson, 68 F.3d at 327 . Indeed, concern regarding both types of prejudice has led at least two appellate courts to discourage the use of lay opinion identification by policemen and parole officers, unless such persons are the only source of adequate identification testimony. See Farnsworth, 729 F.2d at 1161 ; Butcher, 557 F.2d at 670 . "We share this concern, and, likewise, caution trial courts to admit this kind of identification testimony only in limited and necessary circumstances with all appropriate safeguards."”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Knowles · 804 So. 2d 247 - Hardy v. State