Lineups of persons in the light of the nemo tenetur se ipsum accusare principle and problematics of repetition of lineups
Abstract
This chapter deals with the human lineup in criminal proceedings as one of the special methods of the taking of evidence under the Section 104b of the Criminal Procedure Code. After a brief legal delimitation, the attention is paid to this operation in the light of the constitutional principle "nemo tenetur se ipsum accusare" that means "no one is obliged to blame himself".
The author examines if there is an obligation by the accused to undergo this act. Subsequently, the issue of the admissibility of repetition of lineups is solved because it is one of the possible factors causing inaccurate eyewitness testimony in criminal cases.
According to the some foreign research, inaccurate eyewitness testimony is responsible for more than 70 % of wrong convictions of innocent persons. To illustrate, the chapter also includes a case report of a foreign criminal case from the United States of America.
A man was sentenced to life imprisonment in this case and this conviction was based on the wrong eyewitness testimony. After 38 years spent behind the walls of the prison, in 2018, however, DNA tests showed his innocence, which he proclaimed from the beginning.