When a crime is committed, both the victim of that crime and law enforcement personnel (that is, the police) have a great interest in an immediate arrest.  The general public, too, shares in that interest, but all parties must also balance other concerns.  Initially, the suspect’s constitutional rights need be respected. Just as important, the procedure that identifies the suspect must get “the right guy.”  As an experienced New Hampshire criminal attorney confirms, police procedures may not always do that.

In the attempt to identify who committed the crime, police may employ what is referred to as a “show-up.”  If a suspect is detained by police near where the crime was allegedly committed, either the alleged victim or an eyewitness may be brought to where the suspect is being held.  More likely than not, this suspect is in handcuffs.  The obvious question asked by the police is, “Is this the perpetrator?”

Too often, as a New Hampshire criminal attorney explains, that answer by the victim or witness may not be based upon a complete memory of the actual facts; instead, it may be more based on the circumstances.  An individual in police custody, with his hands bound behind him, appears guilty by any objective analysis of human nature.  A quick identification results in an immediate arrest, and the police need not look further for a suspect.

Other means of suspect identification include the photo array and the line-up.

Photo array identification may occur either through the witness examining a book of arrest photographs or by the police displaying a series of individual photographs in a manner much like a physical line-up.  Typically, line-ups include five or six individuals.   The witness may view the suspects in almost all cases without being seen by those individuals in the line-up.

Additionally, constitutional issues arise in suspect identification.  The 6^th Amendment right to counsel may require the presence of a New Hampshire criminal attorney at any pre-trial identification proceeding, and the Due Process rights of the 5^th and 14^Th Amendments may prohibit certain police procedures that unduly suggest a suspect is the actual perpetrator.

If you or a loved one has been arrested for a crime, experienced New Hampshire criminal lawyer Sven Wiberg may be able to help.  Contact the office for a free consultation at 603-686-5454 or www.nhcriminaldefense.com.