The Cross-Race Effect

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the cross-race effect occurs when people have difficulties recognizing members of a race different from their own, which has a negative effect on criminal justice. The author points out that, although often ignored by courts and law enforcement agencies for fear of appearing racist and discriminatory, the problem is allowed to thrive throughout our criminal justice system, but the United States Supreme Court has acknowledged the problems associated with eyewitness testimony. The paper examines specific cases, such as the State of New Jersey vs. McKinley Cromedy, and concludes that new policies and procedures for law enforcement agencies and related jury instruction must be adopted.

From the Paper:

"Historically, eyewitness identification has always been viewed as faulty, but it has been found to be particularly problematic when observations are made by victims experiencing a great deal of stress or fear during a crime. In the 1976 case of United States v. Russell, Judge McCree spoke of the "potential for misidentification when a witness identifies a stranger based solely upon a single brief observation, and this risk is increased when the observation was made at a time of stress or excitement." According to a 1999 National Institute of Justice report titled Postconviction DNA Testing: Recommendations for Handling Requests, approximately 75,000 people annually become criminal defendants based on eyewitness identification."

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