ABSTRACT
In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Neil v. Biggers. Mr. Biggers was accused of taking his victim into the woods and raping her. Although the crime occurred at night, the court record revealed that there had been a full moon and that the attack had lasted for over one half hour. The victim described her assailant to police, telling them that he was a black teenager, was overweight, and had a youthful voice. She was unable to pick anyone out of the mug books she was initially shown. However, 7 months later, police staged a live showup with Mr. Biggers. Recall from Chapter 1 that a showup is an identification procedure in which the witness is shown a single person and is asked if that person is the culprit. The victim positively identified Mr. Biggers from the showup. She indicated that she was confident in her identification. Mr. Biggers was subsequently convicted.
