10th Circuit Issues Decision on Expert Evidence re Eyewitness Testimony

We've learned somewhat tardily that on June 2, the Tenth Circuit issued a significant opinion about expert testimony on the fallibility of eyewitness identification. The opinion continues to reject a per se ban on such expert testimony, but concludes that it is likely to assist the jury in only a narrow array of circumstances -- e.g., in cases involving "cross-racial identification, identification after a long delay, identification after observation under stress, and [such] psychological phenomena as the feedback factor and unconscious transference." See United States v. Rodrigez-Felix, No. 05-2142 (10th Cir. June 2, 2006) (Lucero, McWilliams, & Tymkovich, JJ.).