Eleventh Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Expert Testimony on Eyewitness Identification

In an unpublished opinion, the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the trial court's exclusion of a criminal defendant's expert evidence on the fallibility of eyewitness identification. See United States v. Smith, No. 03-14278 (11th Cir. Sept. 14, 2005) (Edmondson, Fay, & Corrigan, JJ.). The panel's opinion relies on earlier decisions reaching the same result in United States v. Thevis, 665 F.2d 616, 641 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982), and United States v. Smith, 122 F.3d 1335, 1357-59 (11th Cir. 1997). Specifically, the opinion invokes the rationale given in Thevis that expert testimony on eyewitness identification: (1) would permit one witness to comment on the credibility of another; (2) would raise issues that can already be addressed through cross-examination; and (3) would involve questions that are already within jurors' commonsense understanding.