Hidden Police Line Up Data

Appeals Court Denies Chicago Police Effort To Shield Controversial Records

CHICAGO - In a sweeping victory for advocates of government accountability, an Illinois Appellate Court has ruled that the Chicago and Joliet Police Departments cannot uniformly withhold records of a controversial procedure linked to more than 50 wrongful convictions across the state.

The decision partially overturned a Cook County Circuit Court decision permitting the police departments to shield documents related to eyewitness identification of alleged criminal suspects. Both agencies used traditional police lineups to obtain identifications, despite ample evidence that this practice is more likely than alternative techniques to yield errors that can contribute to wrongful convictions.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL) mounted a three-year quest to obtain the data under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Both police departments refused to disclose the data, claiming production of the documents would be too burdensome and would compromise law enforcement interests. That argument was rejected by the Appellate Court's decision, which ordered the departments to produce the documents, unless it can demonstrate to the Circuit Court, in limited instances, that disclosure could compromise law enforcement or privacy. The ruling also overturned a lower court decision that allowed the police departments to withhold photos used in the eyewitness identifications.

"The stakes in this case couldn't be more vital, because there are men in Illinois prisons today largely due to glaring problems with the procedures police use to conduct lineups and photo arrays," said Locke Bowman, Legal Director of the Roderick MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law, which represents NACDL in its FOIA suit. "That's why the court's ruling today upholds a very urgent public interest in reviewing these procedures before they continue to consign more innocent people to prison."

In Illinois, 54 innocent people have spent a total of 601 years behind bars because of erroneous eyewitness convictions, according to an analysis by the Center on Wrongful Convictions.

The data supplied by Chicago and Joliet police were factored into a study by the Illinois State Police, which was ordered by the Illinois General Assembly as part of the reforms associated with the moratorium on executions in the state.

The study compared traditional lineup methods to an alternative using a procedure, validated in a number of research studies, called "sequential double-blind." In that method, witnesses view one suspect at a time under the supervision of an officer who does not know which person in the lineup is the one suspected by police.

In concluding that traditional lineups were more accurate, the Illinois State Police report contradicted extensive scientific research reaching the opposite conclusion. In fact, police departments in other cities have abandoned the lineup procedures favored in Chicago and instead employ the sequential double-blind method.

Updated - 02/26/2010


Attorneys Ask Court To Order Release Of Controversial Police Lineup Records

Attempting to reform a practice that has contributed to more than 50 wrongful convictions in Illinois, an organization of criminal defense attorneys urged a state appellate court Thursday to order the release of data purporting to justify the faulty eyewitness identification procedures employed by the Chicago and Joliet Police Departments.

The records supposedly support the use of traditional police lineups, forming the basis for an Illinois State Police study concluding that traditional lineups were more accurate than alternative methods recommended by researchers and used in practice by some police departments. Those findings have been disputed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), which cites abundant scientific evidence showing that traditional police lineups are more likely than other methods to yield false identifications.

NACDL has mounted a three-year quest to obtain the Chicago and Joliet police data under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Both departments have rebuffed those efforts, and a 2008 Cook County Circuit Court decision required only partial disclosure of the information.

During oral arguments appealing that decision Thursday, NACDL's attorneys told the court that researchers should be permitted to review the underlying data.

In Illinois, 54 innocent people have spent a total of 601 years behind bars because of erroneous eyewitness convictions, according to an analysis by the Center on Wrongful Convictions.

"We should remember that the connection between these faulty lineup procedures and wrongful convictions was the very impetus for this State Police study," said Locke Bowman, Legal Director of the Roderick MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law, which represents NACDL in the lawsuit.

The data supplied by Chicago and Joliet police were factored into a study by the Illinois State Police, which was ordered by the Illinois General Assembly as part of the reforms associated with the moratorium on executions in the state.

The study compared traditional lineup methods to an alternative using a procedure, validated in a number of research studies, called "sequential double-blind." In that method, witnesses view one suspect at a time under the supervision of an officer who does not know which person in the lineup is the one suspected by police.

In concluding that traditional lineups were more accurate, the Illinois State Police report contradicted extensive scientific research reaching the opposite conclusion. In fact, police departments in other cities have abandoned the lineup procedures favored in Chicago and instead employ the sequential double-blind method.

Updated - 11/19/2009


Controversial Chicago Police Line Up Data to Remain Hidden, Justice Center to Appeal

(CHICAGO) On June 30, A Cook County Circuit Court ruled that controversial Chicago police line up data used for a public, taxpayer-funded report would remain hidden. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) was granted limited access to the data and other materials related to the Chicago Police Department's controversial report (pdf) that found that current eyewitness procedures - those that use traditional line ups where all suspects stand in a room together - are more effective than new procedures used in other American cities to reduce errors that can lead to wrongful convictions.

"The Court has dealt a blow to the public today. We will appeal the decision and continue to demand that the Chicago Police turn over all of the data and case files behind a report that contradicts vast amounts of research on lineup procedures," said Scott Ehlers, state legislative director of NACDL, the plaintiff in the lawsuit. "We can't conduct a thorough, scientific review of this information without access to all of the data used to reach the conclusions set forth in this report."

The Roderick MacArthur Justice Center, on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), first requested the data on which the taxpayer-funded report's findings were based but that request was refused or ignored by the police departments involved - Chicago, Joliet, Evanston and the Illinois State Police. Evanston has since turned over their data, but Chicago continues to hold out.

"The fact that this data will continue to remain a secret is shameful," said Locke Bowman, legal director of the Justice Center. "We will continue to do everything in our power to get access to this information."

In Illinois alone, 54 innocent people have spent a total of 601 years behind bars because of erroneous eyewitness convictions, according to an analysis by the Center on Wrongful Convictions. Other cities have instituted procedures in which witnesses view one suspect at a time under the supervision of an officer who does not know who the suspect is in the line up.

In an effort to reduce wrongful convictions, experts have tested new methods for eyewitness identification that have proven to be more accurate. The Illinois report, released in 2006, finds that traditional lineups are more effective than these new methods and contradicts previous research on eyewitness identification, but many legal experts and professionals suspect the research is flawed.

Complete press release (pdf)

Updated - 6/30/2008