Faulty eyewitness testimony has been blamed for many wrongful conviction. The Supreme Court of Oregon released a ruling outlining new procedures for how to examine eyewitness testimony. The Court overturned a conviction and oredered a new trial for a defendant convicted based on eyewitness evidence. Among the recommendations are a revised test, which states (from the news article):
Under the revised test, if a defendant objects to eyewitness identification evidence, the burden is on prosecutors to show its validity. That may entail proving that the witness had "an adequate opportunity to observe" whatever they plan to testify about. It also may mean showing the identification was "rationally based" on qualities such as facial features, for example, but generally not such indistinct characteristics as race, height, weight and clothing.
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