Schmid, charged with grand larceny, moved for suppression of evidence. It was alleged Schmid, a Transportation Security Administration screener, stole money from various passengers while items were being screened on a belt, including $5,000 from Ullah’s jacket. Officers conducted lineups with several witnesses and they identified Schmid. The court found Ullah’s account of the theft from his jacket coupled with the observations and accusations of Schmid’s coworker, provided probable cause for her arrest, making the search of her person incidental to the arrest proper. Yet, it found a single-photo identification made by witness Dr. Ali was unduly suggestive. The court suggested, in today’s age of modern technology, that where photo identification procedures were to be conducted with witnesses residing in other states or countries, that the use of current video technology, including “Skype” or “Google Hangouts” would enable prosecutors to better meet their threshold burden of proof. Thus, the court concluded two lineups conducted were not suggestive, noting defense counsel made no objection to the way in which they were constituted or conducted, only granting suppression of Ali’s photo array procedure conducted via email.
ADDITIONAL TOPICS
