State v. Cromedy
Supreme Court of New Jersey
727 A.2d 457 (1999)
Facts
Cromedy (defendant) was identified as the assailant by the victim of a sexual assault. The victim was a white woman who had been assaulted by an African-American man. The assailant made no attempt to hide his identity during the assault, and the victim had the opportunity to see the attacker’s face at close range. The victim saw Cromedy on the street approximately eight months after the assault and called police to identify Cromedy as her assailant. Cromedy’s defense counsel relied upon the report of a Supreme Court Task Force for the state of New Jersey (plaintiff) as grounds to request a special jury instruction about cross-racial witness identification. The trial court denied the request because neither party had presented any expert testimony about cross-racial identifications and because the court had not yet formally adopted the findings of the task force report. Cromedy was convicted on multiple charges and appealed through the state courts.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Coleman, J.)
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