State v. Guster

The issue certified to this court is whether the defendant in a criminal trial is entitled, upon a proper request by counsel, to a jury instruction on eyewitness identification where that identification is the crucial issue in the case and is uncorroborated by other substantial evidence. The predicate for the argument of the appellant that such a cautionary instruction is indeed required is the fact that eyewitness identification is the product of sense perception and memory, both of which faculties, it is argued, are readily influenced, or misled, by a variety of unreliable external…