Texas Senate Passes Criminal Lineup Bill
The Texas Senate passed a bill that would require police in Texas to adopt written policies for conducting live and photo identification lineups of criminal suspects. According to the Houston Chronicle only twelve percent of Texas law enforcement agencies already have written policies regarding lineups.
Sam Houston State University will work with law enforcement agencies regarding the development of a model policy and procedure. The Texas Senate, who passed the bill 30-0, were concerned with giving guidelines to witnesses before they view a lineup, document witness statements, ensuring that the officer administering the lineup does not know who the suspect is, and the best way to deal with non-English speaking witnesses.
Over the last several years, numerous prisoners have been exonerated with DNA testing. There is a growing nationwide concern regarding eyewitness testimony--especially in areas relating to
aggravated robbery,
assault related offenses, and other
violent crimes. The
Plano criminal defense attorneys have attended numerous actual innocence seminars and have continually studied the most effective techniques to demonstrate the weakness of eyewitness testimony. Our
attorneys are routinely developing new and cutting-edge techniques to best represent our clients.
Contact a Plano criminal defense attorney today.