Lineup identification is regulated by the provisions of Section 104b et seq. of Act No. 141/1961 Coll., the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to paragraph 1, identification is carried out if it is important for criminal proceedings that a suspect, defendant, or witness recognizes a person or an object again and thereby determines their identity. At least one person who is not involved in the case must always be called upon to conduct the identification.
Before the identification, the suspect, defendant, or witness who is to recognize the person or object shall be interviewed regarding the circumstances under which they perceived the person or object, and about the features or peculiarities by which the person or object could be recognized. The person or object to be recognized must not be shown to them before the identification.
If a person is to be recognized, they shall be shown to the suspect, defendant, or witness among at least three persons who do not differ significantly. The person to be recognized shall be invited to place themselves in any position among the persons being shown. If the person is to be recognized not by their appearance but by their voice, they shall be allowed to speak in any order among other persons with similar vocal characteristics.
Identification may also be carried out using a photograph of the person, but only if it is not possible to show the person in physical presence. A typical example is when the person to be recognized is missing or deceased. The police authority may utilize this option in the law even if the conditions for it are not met. Therefore, it is necessary to defend against such illegal identification.
Identification may be performed as a so-called urgent and non-repeatable act according to the provisions of Section 158a of the Code of Criminal Procedure and can thus be carried out before the initiation of criminal prosecution. Such identification must be performed in the presence of a judge!
An urgent act is an act that, due to the danger of its frustration, destruction, or loss of evidence, cannot be delayed from the perspective of the purpose of criminal proceedings until criminal prosecution is initiated. A non-repeatable act is an act that cannot be performed before the court.
Again, an error may occur where the identification does not meet the elements of an urgent or non-repeatable act, yet the police authority performs it before the initiation of criminal prosecution. In such a case, the record of the performed identification will, with exceptions, be unusable before the court as evidence in the main trial.
It is therefore truly important to monitor all procedural rules that must be legally observed during an ordered identification. There are many rules, and it is therefore best to hand this concern over to an expert, a lawyer, to best defend your rights.
Choose a lawyer – defense counsel as soon as possible
Criminal proceedings consist of several parts that follow one another. For the best development of the client’s case and the greatest chance of obtaining a suspended sentence, it is necessary for their defense counsel to be with them as early as possible. If a lawyer joins the defense at a later stage, it may happen that it will no longer be possible to help the client fully, but only to mitigate the impacts. Together, we will discuss possible strategies and choose the best one for you.
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MATĚNA LAW FIRM HELPS ITS CLIENTS
Law Firm of JUDr. Marek Matěna in Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Frýdek-Místek, and Zlín has long been involved in criminal law. If you are dealing with a legal problem, do not hesitate to contact us. Our law firm will attend to you immediately and help you with everything.
