| People v Racine |
| 2010 NY Slip Op 51440(U) [28 Misc 3d 1223(A)] |
| Decided on August 17, 2010 |
| Supreme Court, Kings County |
| Goldberg, J. |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports. |
The People of the State
of New York
against Fedley Racine, Defendant. |
The defendant has been indicted for various charges involving his allegedly on February 27, 2009 possessing and firing a handgun on the street injuring a bystander.
On May 5, 2010, this Court commenced a Huntley/Wade/Dunaway hearing on the
defendant's motion to suppress identification testimony and a statement. On this date, the only
witness who testified was Detective Alberto Zapata. (The page numbers of references to his
testimony are preceded by "Z.") Following this testimony, the People requested and were granted
the opportunity to call the identifying witness, Police Office Pedro Martinez, who made
identifications of the defendant from surveillance videos, a photographic array, and a lineup.
Office Martinez testified on June 15, 2010. (The page numbers of references to his testimony are
preceded by "M.") The defendant and the People have submitted post-hearing papers in support
of their respective position on the motion, each set being dated July 7, 2010. For the reasons
stated below, the motions to suppress are denied.
I.FINDINGS OF FACT
A. The Shooting
[*2]
Police Officer Pedro Martinez was assigned to the Transit Bureau of District 32 for seven-and-a-half years and is responsible for patrolling the subway system. In the Police Academy, he received the usual training in observing people so as to be able to later recognize them which is a situation he regularly confronted while working (M. 10-12). No further details of this training were elicited.
On February 27, 2009 at about 4:30 At that time, Martinez heard gunshots to his right coming from the direction of Cortelyou
Road. He turned to his right towards the sound and saw four young males running from that
direction on the other side of Ocean Avenue approximately seven or eight car lengths away (M.
15, 27, 46). Martinez did not look to see if anybody was hit or who was being shot at (M. 68). He
first saw the four men close to Cortelyou Road on the other side of Ocean Avenue (M. 16-18).
One male (later identified as the defendant) was running behind the other three males holding a
black gun in his right hand pointed behind him back towards Cortelyou Road. He was running
south towards Dorchester Road as he was shooting behind him with his right shoulder turned
towards Cortelyou Road (M. 18-19, 49, 53). Martinez could not recall whether the shooter was
also turning his head while he shot (M. 52). Martinez recalled the shooter was a black male,
approximately 17 to 19 years-old, 5'8" to 5'10" with short hair, and wearing a black jacket with a
black backpack and dark jeans (M. 19-21, 58). The other three men ran closely together
approximately ten yards in front of the shooter and remained in front of the shooter the entire
time Martinez observed them (M. 21, 56, 58).
The four men continued running on the west side of Ocean Avenue on the sidewalk past the
garage. It was daylight and, though there were cars parked on the street, there was nothing
obscuring Martinez's view of the left side of the shooter's face or the full bodies of all four men
(M. 22-23, 61). Due to the rapidity of the event, Martinez could not recall whether he also saw
the right side of the shooter's face (M. 61). Martinez saw the shooter fire approximately two or
three shots straight up the west side of Ocean Avenue towards Cortelyou Road (M. 24). At their
closest point, the shooter was directly across Ocean Avenue from Martinez (M. 27).
After running past the driveway directly across from Martinez, all four men continued on the
sidewalk of the west side of Ocean Avenue for another five car lengths and then ran diagonally
across the street to the east side heading towards Dorchester Road. When the men reached
Martinez's side of Ocean Avenue they were approximately five or six car lengths away (M.
27-28). Right before the shooter crossed the street, Martinez observed him put the gun in his
right jacket pocket (M. 35).
Once on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Dorchester Road, the three men made a left turn
onto Dorchester Road. The shooter followed, and Martinez lost sight of them (M. 29-30). From
[*3]when Martinez first saw the four men on Cortelyou Road
until he lost sight of them on Dorchester Road, approximately one minute had elapsed (M. 30).
Martinez spent about five to ten seconds of that time looking at the shooter's face and the rest of
that time looking "in general" at the four men (M. 30).
After Martinez lost sight of the four men, he took out his phone to call 911 when he saw a
police van turning on Cortelyou Road towards him. Martinez used his shield to flag down the
van (M. 30, 32). Martinez described the shooter to the officers as 5' 8" to 5' 10", approximately
17 to 19 years-old, black jacket, black backpack. Martinez also described the other men as black,
also 17 to 19 years-old, one of whom had a white bubble jacket with a sweater, chubby, 5' 6",
180 to 200 pounds. The other two were described as wearing dark clothes, 5' 7" to 5' 10". The
police van then turned onto Dorchester Road, and Martinez remained on Ocean Avenue to wait
for his son (M. 32).
At approximately 6:15 Later that evening at approximately 10 On February 29, 2009, Zapata looked at various surveillance videos taken on Ocean Avenue
from Cortelyou Road to Dorchester Road, from Dorchester Road to East 21st Street, and on East
21st Street from Dorchester Road to Ditmas Avenue (Z. 48). Videos at two locations on East
21st Street depicted four men running who fit Martinez's descriptions. From a video inside one
of the locations, an apartment building located at 543 East 21st Street, Zapata saw two of the
men in an elevator, one of whom was facing the camera. Zapata made a still photograph from
this video and showed it to residents of the building (Z. 34-35). An "anonymous female" in the
lobby informed Zapata that one of the men was "Fedley" who lived on the fourth floor. Zapata
then returned to the precinct, conducted a computer check, and ascertained the defendant's name
(Z. 35). (Neither the surveillance [*4]videos nor the still
photograph were introduced in evidence. Zapata testified neither person in the elevator was
wearing a bubble jacket [Z. 9]. Martinez, however, testified one of the people entering the
elevator was wearing a white jacket and the other person was the defendant [M. 39]. Martinez
also testified the person in the white jacket "stands out" in the videos from the others [M. 38].)
The next day, March 1, 2009, Martinez met with Zapata at the 70th Precinct to look at the
surveillance videos that Zapata told him were taken at approximately 4:45 Zapata then told Martinez that the third video was taken in the elevator of the building the
two males entered in the previous video. Martinez recognized the male in the white bubble jacket
and the person with him as the shooter (M. 38-39; Z. 50-51). He recognized the shooter by his
face and the black jacket and black backpack. Martinez watched the videos for about ten minutes
never stopping or pausing the videos at any point (Z. 50). The elevator video lasted only
"seconds" (Z. 52).
About twenty minutes after looking at the elevator video and identifying the person with the
visible face as the shooter, Martinez was shown a photo array of six photographs that had been
previously prepared by Zapata's partner, Detective Lee, from police computer files. No one else
was in the room when Zapata showed the photographs to Martinez. Martinez identified the
defendant's photograph as the shooter (Z. 16-17). Martinez wrote down his selection in the
presence of Zapata and then left the precinct. Martinez was told that he would be called to view a
lineup when that person was arrested (Z 54).
Following Martinez's identification of the defendant as the shooter, Zapata went to the
defendant's home the same date, March 1, 2009, and spoke with the defendant's grandmother (Z.
17, 19). On March 10, 2009, the defendant's father came to the precinct at approximately 10:55
In the presence of his father, the defendant was told what the investigation was about (Z.
21). At approximately 11:00 Later that day, on May 7, 2009, Martinez was notified by his command to report to the 70th
Precinct to observe a lineup (M. 41; Z. 28). Martinez was escorted through the front door to the
detective squad office. When passing through the reception area, he did not see any wanted
posters depicting the shooter, nor did he see such posters, or the shooter in person, in the nine
weeks since the date of the photo array (M. 41, 80).
Zapata never informed Martinez that wanted posters and Crime Stoppers reward cards
containing the defendant's photograph had been given to officers in the 70th Precinct to be
posted conspicuously around the neighborhood (Z. 54, 56). Zapata had taken down all the
wanted posters and Crime Stoppers posters in the precinct before he left to collect fillers for the
lineup (Z. 66-67).
In the office, Zapata informed Martinez that the purpose of the lineup was to see if he could
identify the shooter (M. 78). Martinez then waited for approximately 20 to 25 minutes before
viewing the lineup, during which time he did not speak with anyone else (M. 78-79). According
to Zapata, however, Martinez arrived at the precinct at 12:45 The defendant was put in lineup position number five, because he chose that number. The
five fillers were men from a homeless shelter, and were placed by Zapata (Z. 29-30). All the men
in the lineup were sitting and wearing do-rags in order to minimizes their height differences and
conceal any differentiation in their hairstyles (Z. 30, 70-71). At no point was Martinez exposed
to the defendant or the fillers prior to the viewing. When Martinez arrived, the defendant was in
the lineup room with the fillers (Z. 30).
At approximately 12:50 After Zapata reviewed the surveillance videos of the four running males he had good reason
to believe that the four men depicted in those videos were the ones described by Martinez. That
is why Zapata, before even showing the videos to Martinez, sought to ascertain the identity of
the people in the videos, particularly the persons in the elevator, by showing a still photograph
from the elevator video to people in the building.
Detective Zapata thus ascertained the defendant's identify as one of the two males in the
elevator surveillance video and obtained the defendant's photograph before he showed Martinez
the surveillance videos.
By showing the surveillance videos to Martinez, and telling Martinez when and where the
videos were taken, Zapata, rather than taking a prudent, non-suggestive, investigatory approach,
as argued by the People, virtually told Martinez that he believed the videos captured the images
of the [*6]four men just after Martinez had lost sight of them.
Martinez would likely very well have reached the same conclusion without Zapata telling him
when and where the videos were taken. To that extent, the "suggestiveness" of Zapata's
statements were more apparent than real, but nevertheless, Zapata's providing this information to
Martinez was ill-advised.
When Martinez was shown the elevator surveillance video, Martinez had already been made
aware that it was taken following the earlier two videos depicting the same two men in the
elevator running with the two other men. This sequence left little or no doubt that the two men in
the elevator were part of the running group of four males that Martinez had seen on Ocean
Avenue, particularly when all three videos depicted the same man wearing the distinctive white
bubble jacket. The defendant's face was the only face visible in the elevator video. While this
sequence did not guarantee that the defendant, who was also wearing the same clothing and
backpack Martinez had described being worn by the shooter, would be identified as the shooter,
showing Martinez the elevator video as the third part of the three-video sequence rather than first
showing Martinez a photographic array created "a substantial likelihood that the defendant
would be singled out for identification." People v. Chipp,75 NY2d 327, 336 (1990);
In re James H. 34 NY2d 814, 816 (1974); People v Thornton, 236 AD2d 430 (2d
Dept. 1997); People v Mallory, 126 AD2d 750 (2d Dept. 1987).
This procedure was unnecessarily suggestive notwithstanding that Martinez was an
experienced police officer, because the video identification procedure was removed both in time
and location from Martinez's Ocean Avenue observations. See People v Mato, 83 NY2d
406, 409-411 (1994); People v Waring, 183 AD2d 271, 274-275 (2d Dept. 1992)
(unnecessarily suggestive photographic showup identifications cannot be defended by reference
to the fact that the persons making the identifications are police officers).
This procedure was clearly unnecessarily suggestive, because, as noted, Zapata had available
a photograph of the defendant not showing the defendant wearing the same clothing fitting
Martinez's description of the shooter's clothing and not showing the defendant in the company of
someone wearing the distinctive white bubble jacket worn by the shooter's cohort. This
non-suggestive photograph was actually used in the photographic array of six photographs
shown to Martinez 20 minutes later. See People v Bady, 202 AD2d 440 (2d Dept. 1994)
(identification procedure may be unnecessarily suggestive where subject is wearing distinctive
clothing matching description of clothing worn by perpetrator).
The surveillance video identification of the defendant by Martinez was from videos not
showing the actual incriminating events Martinez previously observed on Ocean Avenue, but,
rather, from videos of events Martinez had never previously seen. If, instead, the surveillance
videos had shown the Ocean Avenue events Martinez had actually observed, then his
police-arranged viewing of the surveillance videos would not have been unnecessarily
suggestive, but, rather, merely a confirmatory viewing not subject to a Wade hearing
because no "selection process" would be involved. People v Gee, 99 NY2d 158, 162
(2002).
In stark contrast to the facts in this case, where the police had a non-suggestive photograph
of a likely suspect, the police in Gee had at the time the video was shown to the witness
"no suspects and had not even begun to search for any." Gee at 162. The People's
argument that Zapata was not "rushing to judgment" by first showing Martinez the surveillance
videos and were engaging in "sound police investigatory work" is simply at odds with decades of
judicial opinions. See People [*7]v Chipp, at 336, stating
that an "unnecessarily suggestive" identification procedure is one that creates a substantial
likelihood that the subject will be singled out for identification. It simply cannot be argued with
any persuasiveness that Zapata needed Martinez to view the suggestive elevator video in order to
determine whether the defendant was the shooter seen on Ocean Avenue.
At the hearing on this motion it was the Court, not the People, who elicited over the People's
objection on the grounds of "relevance" testimony from Zapata that he ascertained the
defendant's identity as one of the men in the elevator prior to showing Martinez the surveillance
videos. Rather then being irrelevant, Zapata's possession of the defendant's photograph and the
absence of any good reason to have Martinez look at the elevator surveillance video before
showing him a non-suggestive photographic array rendered that identification procedure
unnecessarily suggestive.
It should also be noted that the reliability of Martinez's identification of the defendant is
greatly enhanced by the defendant's admission that he was present, and by the fact that the
defendant was depicted in the videos wearing clothing fitting the clothing described by Martinez
and running with and in the elevator with a second young man wearing a distinctive white
bubble jacket that was worn by another person involved in the incident. Yet, even though
Martinez's video surveillance identification may have been reliable, it was, nevertheless,
unnecessarily suggestive, and under New York law had the potential to taint subsequent
identifications. See People v Adams, 53 NY2d, 249 (1981) (New York State
Constitutional right to due process requires exclusion of evidence of an unnecessarily suggestive
identification even if that identification would be found to be reliable and admissible pursuant to
Federal Constitutional standards in accordance with Manson v Braithwaite, 432 US 98
[1977]).
Although the photographic array identification procedure was fairly conducted and the array
of photographs was fairly assembled, it took place only 20 minutes after Martinez had identified
the defendant in the elevator video. As a result, the photographic identification procedure was
rendered unnecessarily suggestive, because Martinez's photographic identification cannot be
found to be attenuated from the prior suggestive video identification. People v Wilson, 11 AD3d 204
(2d Dept. 2004) (lineup identification suppressed because it immediately followed a suggestive
single photo showup, the time interval between them being too brief to attenuate the taint),
revd other grounds 5 NY3d 778 (2005); People v Jurgins, 27 Misc 3d 1228 (A)
(Sup. Ct., Bronx County 2010) (suggestive photographic array tainted second photographic array
conducted 10 to 12 hours later).
Because evidence of a pre-trial photographic identification, even if found not to be
suggestive or not to have been tainted by prior suggestive identification procedures, is not
admissible at trial (People v Caserta, 19 NY2d 18, 20 [1966]), the issue to be decided in
this case is not whether testimony concerning the photographic identification should be
"suppressed" but, rather, whether, testimony concerning the subsequent lineup identification and
prospective in-court identification should be suppressed as a result of a finding that the video
surveillance identification procedure was unnecessarily suggestive and the subsequent
photographic array identification, although fairly conducted, was tainted by the prior
identification procedure.
The defendant was arrested on May 7, 2009, when he
appeared at the Precinct with his father. At that time there was probable cause to arrest him
based on Martinez's identifications of the defendant on the elevator surveillance video and the
photographic array as the shooter. Thus, the defendant was lawfully in custody both when he
was subsequently placed in a lineup later that day and when he made his statement to the police
after being identified at the lineup. Accordingly, the Dunaway portion of the defendant's
motion is denied.
In this case, the lineup was properly conducted and not unnecessarily suggestive. Thus, the
only grounds on which to suppress Martinez's testimony about the lineup identification and
prospective in-court identification would be that the unnecessarily suggestive video surveillance
identification tainted the immediately following photographic identification, which, in turn,
tainted the lineup identification, which, in turn, would taint the prospective in-court
identification at trial. The defendant waived his right to be present during Officer Martinez's
Wade hearing testimony. Therefore, Martinez did not make an in-court identification of
the defendant at the Wade hearing.
Where, as in this case, there is an unnecessarily suggestive identification procedure,
testimony regarding both a subsequently held identification procedure and prospective in-court
identification may be allowed if the subsequent identifications have either "an independent
source" from the prior tainted identifications or there is a substantial time gap between the
suggestive and non-suggestive pre-trial identifications so as to "attenuate" the taint.
The "independent source" inquiry focuses on whether there is clear and convincing evidence
that the identifying witness formed a sufficient mental image of the perpetrator at the time of the
incriminating observation so as not to be influenced by the prior unnecessarily suggestive
identification procedure, thereby permitting testimony regarding subsequent identifications.
United States v Wade, 388 US 218, 240 (1967); People v Rahming, 26 NY2d
411, 416-417 (1970). The defendant vigorously argues that the People have not met this burden.
This subject will be discussed further below.
Pursuant to the attenuation doctrine, identification evidence may be admitted at trial if the
causal connection between the identification evidence and the previously occurring
unnecessarily suggestive identification procedure has been so attenuated that the taint of the
initial misconduct has been dissipated. See Wong Sun v United States, 371 US 471, 487
citing, Nardone v United States, 308 US 338, 341 (1939). An "attenuation" analysis is
conceptually distinct from an "independent source" analysis . See People v Davis 294
AD2d 872 (4th Dept. 2002) (appellate court finds both attenuation and independent source);
People v Floyd, 122 AD2d 72 (2d Dept. 1986) (appellate court finds no need to address
issue of independent source where lineup identification was attenuated from arguably suggestive
photographic identification).
In this case, the unnecessarily suggestive video identification and the properly held though
tainted photographic array both took place on March 1, 2009. The lineup identification took
place on May 7, 2009 over nine weeks later. The passage of this significant amount of time, in
accordance [*9]with the following cases, was sufficient to
attenuate the taint of the unnecessarily suggestive video identification: People v Leibert, 71 AD3d 513
(1st Dept. 2010) (six weeks between photo showup and lineup sufficient time to
remove any taint, especially where defendant's appearance changed at time of the lineup); People v Thompson, 17 AD3d
138 (1st Dept. 2005) (two months between identification of defendant from
wanted poster for a different case hanging on precinct bulletin board and lineup identification
sufficient to attenuate any suggestiveness); People v Davis, 294 AD2d 872 (4th Dept.
2002) (almost three months between showup identification and lineup attenuated any
taint); People v Butts, 279 AD2d 587 (2d Dept. 2001) (six weeks between
allegedly suggestive photographic array and lineup attenuated any possible taint); People v
Hamilton, 271 AD2d 618 (2d Dept. 2000) (six weeks between "inappropriate
remark" by police officer after witness identified defendant's photograph from a properly
conducted photo array and subsequent lineup identification was sufficient to attenuate any taint);
People v Dread, 245 AD2d 1076 (4th Dept. 1997) (two months between
photographic identification where victim's boyfriend who was not a witness to the crime, said,
"oh yeah, that's him" and lineup identification sufficient to attenuate any possible taint);
People v Lee, 207 AD2d 953 (4th Dept. 1994) (five months between showing
witness two successive photo arrays each containing different pictures of the defendant with the
second array showing the defendant wearing a jacket similar to the jacket described as worn by
the perpetrator and lineup identification was sufficient to attenuate any possible taint); People
v Alton, 169 AD2d 529 (1st Dept. 1991) (more than four weeks between allegedly
suggestive photo array where defendant had a "receding hairline" and lineup identification
"render [ed] prejudice unlikely"); People v Young, 167 AD2d 366 (2d Dept. 1990)
(more than two months between allegedly suggestive photo array and lineup
identification sufficient to attenuate any possible taint and no evidence adduced at the
hearing that at the lineup procedure the complainant was merely identifying the individual in the
photographic array rather than the man who had robbed and assaulted him);People v
Cordilione, 159 AD2d 864 (3d Dept. 1990) (seven weeks between possible
suggestive photo arrays and lineup sufficiently attenuated any possible effects of
suggestiveness); People v Allah, 158 AD2d 605 (2d Dept. 1990) (19 days
between presumptively suggestive photo array because it was lost and not produced at the
Wade hearing and the lineup identification was sufficient to attenuate any taint and
there was no evidence adduced at the hearing that the complainant was merely identifying the
man she had selected in the photo array); People v Greenwood, 156 AD2d 159 (1st Dept.
1989) (five and-a-half weeks between "questionable" photo identification procedure
and lineup sufficiently "attenuated in time" to find lineup not tainted by prior "procedural
irregularities"); People v Smith, 154 AD2d 633 (2d Dept. 1989) (more than five
months between photographic identification procedure and lineup sufficiently attenuated in
time of nullify any possible taint); People v Celestin, 150 AD2d 385 (2d Dept. 1989)
(six months between allegedly suggestive photographic identification and
lineup would be sufficient to attenuate any taint); People v Russell, 140 AD2d 556 (2d
Dept. 1988) (approximately four months between a photographic identification that
"may well have been tainted" and a lineup was sufficiently attenuated to nullify any taint);
People v Smith, 140 AD2d 647 (2d Dept. 1988) (approximately two months
between allegedly suggestive photographic identification based on police comments that a
suspect is included in the array and lineup would have been sufficient to attenuate any taint);
People v Torres, 137 AD2d 734 (2d Dept. 1988) (seven months between
unnecessarily suggestive single photo showup identification and lineup sufficient to attenuate
any taint); People v Allen, 134 AD2d 598 (2d Dept. 1987) (18-months between
[*10]allegedly suggestive photographic array and lineup would
have negated any undue suggestiveness); People v Watts, 130 AD2d 695 (2d Dept.
1987) (two months between unnecessarily suggestive photographic identification and
the lineup was sufficiently attenuated in time to nullify any taint); People v Floyd, 122
AD2d 71 (2d Dept. 1986) (over four months between allegedly suggestive
photographic identification and lineup was sufficient to attenuate any possible taint); People
v Ruffino, 110 AD2d 198, 201 (2d Dept. 1985) (3½ months between unduly
suggestive photographic identification and lineup sufficiently attenuated any taint); People v
Johnson, 106 AD2d 469 (2d Dept. 1984) (two months between
presumptively suggestive photographic identification based on a failure to preserve the array and
the lineup identification was sufficiently attenuated).
Based on the above cases representing over twenty-five years of consistent holdings by the
Appellate Division in all four Departments, the nine-week interval in this case between the
suggestive video identification and the fairly conducted lineup identification compels the
conclusion that this time interval was sufficient to attenuate the lineup identification from the
tainted video surveillance identification.
In this regard, it is significant that there is no claim that the defendant's appearance in the
surveillance video did not match Martinez's description of the shooter, indicating that Martinez
had the ability to recall accurately what he saw. In addition, there was no evidence at the
Wade hearing that Martinez's identification of the defendant at the lineup was based
merely on his recollection of the defendant's appearance in the surveillance video rather than on
his recollection of the appearance of the shooter on Ocean Avenue. See People v Young,
supra at 366 and People v Allah, supra at 605.
The defendant argues that Martinez did not really have a good opportunity to view the face
of the shooter based on Martinez's failure to select the defendant's photograph on the date of the
incident from over 1,500 photographs of black males between the ages of 17 and 20 years old
who had been arrested in the 67th and 70th precincts. Although it is not certain that the
defendant's photograph was included in the group, Zapata testified that, based on the defendant's
arrest history it should have been. Nevertheless, this is but one factor to consider in determining
if there was a sufficient attenuation. Under the circumstances of this case, this failure, does not
warrant finding attenuation has not been established.
Further, Martinez denied seeing any wanted posters of the defendant either in the 70th
Precinct when he came to view the lineup or posted in the neighborhood during the nine weeks
between the time of his photographic identification and the lineup.
The People have met their burden of proof, which is by a "preponderance of the evidence,"
to show that the lineup identification was attenuated from the earlier unnecessarily suggestive
video identification. As previously noted, an attenuation analysis is not only a distinct analysis
from an "independent source" analysis, but also an "independent source" analysis carries a
greater burden of proof which is "clear and convincing evidence." It is beyond the scope of this
decision to attempt to explain in detail why these seemingly similar inquiries, i.e., whether a
prior unnecessarily suggestive identification procedure requires suppression of testimony of
future non-suggestive identifications, should have two different burdens of proof. Suffice it to
say, the distinction appears to be that where there is an unnecessarily suggestive identification
procedure and no intervening untainted pre-trial identification procedure, any prospective
in-court identification, pursuant to United States v Wade, supra, must be shown by clear
and convincing evidence to have an [*11]independent source.
However, if there is an intervening, fairly conducted identification procedure that is shown by a
preponderance of the evidence to be sufficiently attenuated from the prior suggestive
identification procedure, then evidence of the fairly conducted procedure and the prospective
in-court identification will be permitted.[FN1] Accordingly, the defendant's motion to
suppress evidence of the lineup identification and prospective in-court identification by Officer
Martinez is denied.
The surveillance videos were not introduced in evidence. Thus, it may very well be, as the
defendant argues, that Martinez got a better look at the defendant's face when viewing the
unnecessarily suggestive elevator surveillance video than he had of the shooter's face on Ocean
Avenue.
Therefore, although the People have met their burden to show by a preponderance of the
evidence that Martinez's lineup identification and prospective in-court identification are
attenuated from the unnecessarily suggestive elevator surveillance video, in the absence of what
that video actually showed, this Court cannot find that there is clear and convincing evidence
that these identifications have an independent source from that surveillance video. Nevertheless,
the lineup and the prospective in-court identification are admissible for the reasons previously
stated, and the motion to suppress them is denied. (Ironically, the defendant's nine-week delay in
surrendering to the police is the cause of this result. If the defendant had been arrested when
Zapata went to his home on March 1, 2009, the day of the video surveillance and photographic
identifications, or if the defendant had promptly surrendered, the subsequent lineup identification
would not have been sufficiently attenuated and the People would have had to show the
prospective in-court identification had an independent source.)
The defendant's statement, "I was there but did not
shoot," was made following Zapata's reading the defendant his Miranda rights
concluding, "Now that I have advised you of your rights, are you willing to answer any
questions?" The defendant's statement was not responsive to the question, nor under the
circumstances was Zapata's conduct, consisting of advising the defendant and his father of the
nature of the investigation and advising the defendant of his Miranda rights, the
functional equivalent of interrogation, i.e., conduct likely to elicit an incriminating response.
Rhode Island v Innis, 446 US 291, 301 (1980); People v Huffman, 61 NY2d 795,
797 (1984); People v Jefferson, 71
AD3d 694 (2d Dept. 2010); see Berghuis v Thompkins, __US__, 130 S Ct 2250,
2256-2263 (2010) (defendant's silence for almost three hours during an interrogation is not an
invocation of the right to remain silent and there was no basis to conclude the defendant did not
understand his Miranda rights even though the record was inconsistent as to whether he
affirmatively responded when asked if he understood them).
Therefore, although due to the defendant's silence while being advised of his
Miranda rights, the People arguably may not have met their burden to show the
defendant understood his Miranda rights and voluntarily waived them, the defendant's
statement was not the product of unconstitutional custodial interrogation nor otherwise
involuntarily made. Therefore, the motion to suppress the statement is denied.
JOEL M. GOLDBERG
JUDGE
B. Computer Photo Identification Attempt
C. Surveillance Video Identification
D. Photo Array Identification
E. Defendant Surrenders and Makes A Statement
F. Lineup Identification
II.CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
A. The Surveillance Video Identification
B. The Photographic Array Identification
C. The Arrest
[*8]
D. The Lineup Identification
Attenuation Analysis
Independent Source Analysis
E. The Statement
[*12]
SO ORDERED
Footnote 1: This analysis would permit law
enforcement a "second bite at the apple" in situations where it was recognized prior to trial that
an unnecessarily suggestive identification procedure had taken place. Rather than attempt to
show by clear and convincing evidence at a Wade hearing that the prospective in-court
identification would have an independent source, a court-ordered lineup could be held that is
sufficiently removed in time from the prior unnecessarily suggestive identification procedure. If
an identification is made, attenuation could be demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence
and testimony of this lineup identification would be admissible. Of course, if law enforcement
seeks to obtain an "attenuated lineup" identification, there is a risk that no identification will be
made and it would then be conceptually difficult to show an independent source for a
prospective in-court identification. From the absence of reported cases discussing this scenario,
it appears prosecutors would rather attempt to show an independent source at a Wade
hearing than have a witness view an "attenuated lineup". Compare, People v Allah, 169
Misc 2d 633 (County Court, Nassau County 1996) (Court refused to grant prosecution's request
for a court-ordered lineup after ruling at a Wade hearing that the prior lineup
identification would be suppressed but found by clear an convincing evidence that an in-court
identification would be based on an independent source).