FLAWED LINEUP IDENTIFICATION WAS NOT CORROBORATED BY OTHER EVIDENCE; CONVICTION REVERSED AS AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined the lineup identification by the victim was flawed. The conviction was deemed against the weight of the evidence because the flawed identification was not corroborated by other evidence:

The evidence presented at trial established that the complainant described the perpetrator to the police as balding with no facial hair. The participants in the lineup five days later wore hats to conceal their hairlines. However, the defendant’s significant facial hair was visible. Further, the defendant was the only participant in the lineup who was wearing a yellow shirt. Although the shirts of the participants in the lineup were covered with a cloth, the defendant’s shoulders remained visible. The perpetrator had also worn a yellow shirt. After viewing the lineup, the complainant told the investigating officer that she recognized the defendant’s yellow shirt as the shirt worn by the perpetrator, indicating that the most significant similarity between the perpetrator and the defendant visible to her was his yellow shirt.

Since the complainant’s identification of the defendant as the perpetrator was not corroborated by any other evidence, we conclude, based upon our review of the facts, that there is a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant committed this crime. People v Mann, 2020 NY Slip Op 03249, Second Dept 6-10-20