Capturing Eyewitness Perspective

 

Investigations: Capturing Eyewitness Perspective

Randall Alexander

Licensed Investigator

August 17, 2023

INTRODUCTION

In the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny, the criminal defense attorney played by Joe Pecsci has the insurmountable task of raising doubt before the jury in what appears to be solid eye witness accounts, linking the defendants to the crime scene. 

With one witness in particular, Cousin Vinny is showing the witness photographs, and asks on cross examination,  “So Mr. Crane, you can positively identify the defendants for a moment of two seconds, looking through this dirty window, this crud covered screen, these trees, with all these leaves on them, and I don’t know how many bushes…” 

As comical as the entire exchange was, there is an element of relevance to be taken away. 

In your investigation, what could a witness actually see from their perspective at the time of the incident?  And ... how can we replicate these conditions in an court approved evidentiary manner?

Factors that come into play are obstructions, lighting conditions, distance, weather, etc. 

I hope you find the article informative!

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Capturing Eyewitness Perspective