Legislative Update: The 82nd Texas Legislature And Photo Array

The 82nd Texas Legislature passed a groundbreaking bill this past session. Many of the seminars and coninuing legal education programs have focused on the problems associated with eyewitness identification. There has been a lot of studies evaluating the effectiveness of photo-lineups and photo arrays. It has been standard procedure for most police agencies to show a six-pack of photographs to witnesses and victims of crimes.

A six-pack consists of the police putting six pictures on one page, and generally, the photo of the suspect of the crime is included as one of the six pictures. However, this procedure has been maligned with a lot of criticism. House Bill 215 now requires all Texas law enforcement agencies to adopt and implement a written policy on photographic and live lineup identification procedures.

We will continue to monitor the progress of this development. If you have been charged with aggravated sexual assault, contact a Plano criminal defense lawyer.