A witness on the stand swears that he saw someone commit a crime. Must you believe that the testimony is valid when a witness testifies so forcefully?
A) Yes, because seeing is believing.
B) No, because eyewitnesses are not usually honest.
C) Yes, because eyewitnesses are very confident about their testimony.
D) No, because there is a great possibility of a "false positive" identification.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eyewitness testimony can be unreliable, even if the witness is very confident. There is a significant chance of mistaken identity, especially in situations where the witness only saw the perpetrator for a brief moment or under poor lighting conditions. False positive identifications can also occur when the witness is shown a lineup or photo array and mistakenly identifies an innocent person as the culprit. Therefore, it is not always wise to automatically believe a witness's testimony, even if they seem very certain about what they saw.

A Witness on the Stand Swears That He Saw Someone