State v. Thompson
State v. Thompson
Opinion of the Court
Defendant was found guilty by a district court jury of a charge of aggravated robbery, Minn. St. 609.245, and was sentenced by the trial court to a maximum indeterminate term of 20 years’ imprisonment. On this appeal from judgment of conviction, defendant contends (1) that the admission of eyewitness identification testimony by the victim of the crime violated his right to due process, and (2) that the admission of a written exculpatory statement signed by defendant violated the rules established in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. ed. 2d 694, 10 A. L. R. 2d 974 (1966). After careful consideration, we affirm.
1. Although the lineup at which defendant was identified by the victim as the man who had robbed him at gunpoint was suggestive, an examination of the entire record forces us to conclude that there is no substantial likelihood that defendant was misidentified. See, Neil v. Big-gers, 409 U. S. 188, 93 S. Ct. 375, 34) L. ed. 2d 401 (1972). The suggestiveness in the lineup resulted from the fact that the victim had observed prominent tattoos on the robber’s arms and defendant was the only one in the lineup who had prominent tattoos on his arms; however, the suggestiveness was unintentional because the victim did not mention these tattoos to the police when he described the robber. Our conclusion that there is no substantial likelihood that defendant was misidentified is based upon a number of factors including (a) the fact that the victim
Defendant also challenges the admission of the identification evidence upon the ground that although the lineup was held on Monday, 3 days after the arrest, he had still not been taken before a magistrate. Prior to the adoption of Rule 4.02, Rules of Criminal Procedure,
2. The other issue raised by defendant is whether the admission of the signed exculpatory statement violated the Miranda rules. We need only say that the record supports the trial court’s finding that there was no such violation.
Affirmed.
The rules did not become effective until July 1, 1975, and therefore Rule 4.02, subd. 5, is inapplicable to this case.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE v. WILLIAM CHARLES THOMPSON
- Status
- Published