LINEUP IDENTIFICATION WAS UNDULY SUGGESTIVE, CONVICTION REVERSED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined the lineup identification procedure was unduly suggestive:
… [W]e agree with the defendant’s contention that the hearing court erred in finding that the pretrial identification procedure, a lineup, was not unduly suggestive. The defendant was the only person in the lineup with dreadlocks, and dreadlocks featured prominently in the description of one of the assailants that the complainant gave to the police. In addition, the dreadlocks were distinctive and visible despite the fact that the defendant and the fillers all wore hats … . Accordingly, the lineup identification should have been suppressed. The error was not harmless as it cannot be said that there is no reasonable possibility that the error might have contributed to the defendant’s conviction … . Therefore, we reverse the judgment of conviction and order a new trial. People v Colsen, 2020 NY Slip Op 01514, Second Dept 3-4-20