The Frailty of Eyewitness Identification
Although most eyewitnesses are not dishonest, they may nevertheless be grossly mistaken in their identification: Since perception and memory are selective processes, viewers are inclined to fill in perceived events with other details, a process which enables them to create a logical sequence. The details people add to their actual perception of an event are largely governed by past experience and personal expectations. Thus the final recreation of the event in the observer's mind may be quite different from reality. Law Reform Commission of Canada Study Paper on Pretrial Eyewitness Identification Procedures (1983), at p. 10, quoted in R. v. Miaponoose (1996), 110 C.C.C. (3d) 445 (Ont. C.A.), at p. 422. Eyewitness identification is inherently unreliable. It is difficult to assess, is often deceptively reliable because it comes from credible and convincing witnesses, and is difficult to discredit on cross-examination for those same reasons. Certainty should not be mis...