State v. Breedlove

Appellant’s alibi defense made the identity of the person who robbed the Rendevons Bar of crucial importance. Obviously in an effort to bolster the in-court identification by the state’s witnesses of Breedlove as the perpetrator of the crime, the prosecutor presented, on direct examination, evidence of an out-of-court selection by the witnesses of appellant’s photograph from a group of mug shots obtained from police files. Appellant contends that allowing this testimony and the pictures into evidence amounts to reversible error. We agree.

Under proper circumstances, an out-of-court…