State of Texas v. D.J.
Jan 01, 2011OUTCOME: Dismissal
Brian Powers received a dismissal after a complicated photo array suppression hearing over a Burger King Robbery. The suspect entered into the BK shortly before closing wearing a hoodie, a cap, sungla ... sses, and a scar over his nose and lips. He purported to have a gun in his jacket and after two minutes, left with no physical evidence behind. A confidential informant released the defendant's name weeks later, which police used to produce a line-up. This evidence was used to arrest the Defendant. During the suppression hearing, the State attempted to prove the 16-year old worker behind the counter was a reliable witness despite having seen the defendant for only a few seconds. Despite the disguise and the witness' inability to describe the suspect, she was able to pick the defendant out of a line-up. During the hearing, Powers brought up issues involving cross-cultural factors in identification, distracting factors when a gun is present, and improper non-verbal cues given by law enforcement to witnesses during a photo-identification. The case was dismissed.
