目击者指证规则中的若干问题

如何防范因目击者指证错误导致的无辜者被定罪,是一个世界性难题。美国所有的冤假错案中,半数以上是由目击者指证错误所造成的。心理学的研究结果证实,指证形成过程中的任何阶段都有可能出现差错。美国防范指证错误的主要措施有:以成列指证、照片指证为原则,暴露指证为例外;以律师的在场帮助权约束侦查机关的暗示性指证;庭审辨认时引入指证专家的意见;在采信指证结论时适用“本身排除”和“总体情况权衡”规则。我国即将出台的证据法应该借鉴美国防范指证错误的一些措施,以规范我国的指证实践。

How to prevent the conviction of an innocent person as a result of false eyewitness identification is a difficult question throughout the world. In the US, half of the wrong cases are resulted from false eyewitness identification. Psychological researches show that mistakes can occur at every stage of identification. The main measures taken in the US to prevent false eyewitness identification include: taking line up and photograph identifications as the principal method of identification and using show up identification only as exceptions, preventing suggestive identification by granting the suspect's lawyer the right to be at the scene of identification, introducing expert opinions in trial identification, and applying the “per se rule' and the rule of “the totality of total circumstance'. These measures should be taken into consideration by China when adopting its own Evidence Law.