United States v. Melvin Telfaire

I concur in the judgment that the trial court’s error in failing to offer a sua sponte identification instruction as required by Macklin v. United States1 was harmless. And I wholeheartedly concur in the promulgation of a model identification instruction which deals realistically with the shortcomings and trouble spots of the identification process. I have in the past repeatedly protested the practice of “turn[ing] over to the jury this critical question without even trying to acquaint it with the risks involved or the information now available that could illuminate its inquiry.” 2 The model…