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“And I’m not sure a judge wouldn’t,” Lydia said, her tongue razor sharp. “Detective Wellesley, did you direct the witnesses to any scientific journals so that they could form their own opinions?”
“No.”
“Did you suggest that they go the library? Or contact a science professor?”
Wellesley fumed silently. Gutierrez stepped in. “You’ve made your point, Lydia. Please move on.”
She gave him a big, friendly smile, glanced at her notepad, and asked another question. “Now, Detective Wellesley, you went through an identification process with each of these victims. Was it the same each time?”
“I followed procedure.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“Procedurally, we’re given leeway. Depending on the situation.”
“Meaning, it’s procedure to use photo arrays or physical lineups?”
“We’re allowed to use either.”
“And show-ups? You’re allowed to do those?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” She glanced at the notepad in front of her. “Let’s start with Candy Van Dyke, the witness in the Yardley rape. She remembers being shown just one photograph, a mugshot of Stu Whatley. Is that correct?”
“I don’t recall.”
“You just said the identifications followed procedure. Is it procedure to show a witness just one photo for identification purposes?”
“It’s acceptable. It’s similar to a show-up.”
“Tell me again, what is a show-up?”
“You walk a victim or witness by the suspect to see if they recognize them.”
“It’s meant to seem like a coincidence?”
“I suppose.”
“But holding a single photo out to a witness would not be a coincidence. So it would not actually fit the definition of a show-up, would it?”
Wellesley sat quietly. She glanced at her union rep, waiting for him to say something. Finally, the ADA said, “Ms. Gonzalez, that’s more of a statement than a question.”
“We can move on,” Lydia took a bottle of water out of the tote she carried along with the briefcase. She unscrewed the top and took a sip. “Regarding the Wainwright rape, the victim was shown an array of six photographs. The suspect, Peter Linder, and five others. However, the five fillers looked nothing like the description given.”
“That’s your opinion,” ADA said.
“The hair color is significantly different.”
“She said ‘blond’,” Detective Wellesley said. “Blond covers a wide range. We don’t always know what a witness means by blond.”
Lydia left a long pause. Then, “Selma Martinez says that she made her identification from a photo array. There’s none in the case file we received.”
“We’ll have that checked,” ADA Gutierrez said immediately. “At most it’s a photocopying error.”
“Our client recalls being part of an in-person lineup. Can you account for that discrepancy, Detective Wellesley?”
The detective sat there closed mouthed.
