Accused charged with fraud. Issue regarding identity. Accused was selected from a photo lineup by two witnesses, and both made dock IDs. First witness originally said that he was “not sure” when he looked through the array of photographs, and then testified at trial that he was 80% sure that he had selected the right photo. Second witness was more definitive (95% sure), however, he believed that the suspect was in the line-up, and testified that he had tried to pick out the photo that most “closely resembled” the accused.
Held: Acquitted.
Crown argument that dock ID “was easier because the witness is able to identify a live person more readily in person than a photograph” was “logical” but contrary to the jurisprudence. As per Hibbert, [2002] 2 SCR 445: ” … the danger associated with eyewitness in-court identification is that it is deceptively credible, largely because it is honest and sincere”. There was no evidence corroborating the identification by the eyewitnesses. Reasonable doubt standard not met.
D. Anderson – Defence Counsel