Model Policy and Procedure for Eyewitness Identification
State of Wisconsin, Office of the Attorney General
After studying the problem of mistaken identifications, the Training and Standards Bureau of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, working with the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Frank J. Remington Center, developed and adopted a comprehensive set of eyewitness identification guidelines for law enforcement. Those guidelines — which include conducting double-blind, sequential photo arrays, non-biased instructions to eyewitnesses, assessments of confidence immediately after identifications, and proper selection of fillers — were adopted and distributed to law enforcement throughout the state in March 2005.
The Attorney General’s new eyewitness identification guidelines recommend many of the same procedures identified by the Avery Task Force, a legislative commission appointed by state Rep. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin) to study exonerations and develop recommendations for reform following the exoneration of Steven Avery. Legislation based on the Task Force recommendations (relating to eyewitness identification procedures, recording of custodial interrogations, and preservation and testing of DNA evidence) was passed by the Wisconsin legislature in November 2005. Though the new eyewitness identification guidelines are not mandatory, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is developing a training program for law enforcement, which promises to have an impact on improving identification procedures in Wisconsin.
- Read the model policy (pdf)
- Read Wisconsin Attorney General Lautenschlager’s introduction to the guidelines (pdf)
