High Court Upholds Police’s Use Of Photo Lineup

SALISBURY — Maryland’s highest court this week ruled the use of a photo lineup to help identify a Salisbury man as the suspect in an attempted murder case was admissible, essentially upholding the state’s accepted practice of using photographs to help witnesses identify perpetrators.

In December 2011, Marcus Smiley, 54 of Salisbury, was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and other charges for shooting and attempting to kill Travis Green, also of Salisbury, in an apparent drug deal gone wrong. Two days after the shooting, Green picked Smiley out as the suspect from a photographic array provided by detectives depicting six individuals of the same race and similar age, size and physical appearance.

The photo line-up included pictures of six individuals with nearly the same physical appearance as Smiley, down to the same hairstyle and same facial hair pattern and the victim picked Smiley out of the line-up in about 30 seconds, according to court documents. Smiley was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years, but he appealed the conviction on several accounts, including a notion the photo line-up presented to Green was predisposed to have the witness pick the suspect from the six pictures presented.

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