NY Criminal Juries to be Told About Challenges to Cross-Racial Identifications

In People v. Boone, which came out this week, the NY state high court instructed lower courts that criminal defendants if they so desire can request a jury instruction on the unreliability of cross-witness identification.  Other states with similar rules include Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.  Meanwhile, courts in Washington State and Georgia make this rule discretionary which was the case in New York for the past 6 years.  Individual courts in Detroit, Indianapolis, and the District of Columbia also allow a similar instruction at the discretion of the judge. To read more about this rule go to the article below.

NYTimes.com: To Curb Bad Verdicts, Court Adds Lesson on Racial Bias for Juries