A Test of the Simultaneous vs. Sequential Lineup Methods

To listen to Dr. Gary Wells explain the methods and conclusions of the Report on the weekly radio show Skeptically Speaking click the link indicated.

To listen to the audio recording of the news conference held on Monday, September 19 AT 2 PM EDT Click Here (WAV file is 5MB.)

The analysis of over 850 lineups collected across four sites: the Austin (TX) Police Department, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police Department, the Tucson (AZ) Police Department, and the San Diego (CA) Police Department has been completed. 

To view the report, click here.  To request a hard copy of the report contact Krista Maeder at 800-626-4089.

To see a list, prepared by the Innocence Project, of jurisdictions that conduct double-blind sequential lineups, click here.

The initial report follows a landmark decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court (State vs. Larry R.  Henderson) requiring changes in the way courts evaluate eyewitness identification evidence at trial and how juries should be instructed.  The decision takes into account over 30 years of eyewitness identification and memory research. 

Dr. Gary L. Wells, Director of Social Sciences for the AJS Center of Forensic Science and Public Policy and the principal investigator of the EWID Field Studies, was interviewed by the New York Times in response to the Supreme Court decisions and the implications it may have on police lineup investigative techniques.  A copy of the article, “Police Lineups Start to Face Fact: Eyes Can Lie,” is available at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/us/29