The lecture will cover the new trends under the Rules on Evidence, especially in the preservation of the same when presented in court. The topic will cover the dilemma being encountered by the prosecutors, defense counsel and the Court as well. The topic will show how courts appreciate the Rules on Evidence and how judges comply with the generally accepted principle of positive identification. The Supreme Court is consistent to the principle that Positive Identification prevails over Alibi. Alibi being the weakest defense cannot prevail over positive identification.
Once the prosecution has established positive identification, the Court has no other option but to render judgment in favor of the prosecution. It is now the turn of the defense to prove otherwise. But since Alibi is the weakest defense, chances are, the Court, in the absence of any convincing evidence, may not believe the version of the defense. The problem is, how sure are we that positive identification is reliable. There are decisions of the Supreme Court that will prove otherwise.
One good example is the case of People vs. Hubert Webb. The case took several years to finish, and in the end, the case was dismissed. The case was sensationalized by media only to be dismissed later on by the Supreme Court when it was reviewed on appeal. Before Hubert Webb, et. al. was indicted, there were no less than two (2) sets of suspects rounded up and presented to the Policemen. Those persons were later on discharged and Webb was allegedly identified by a state witness Jesica Alfaro. Webb was positively identified but the defense of Webb is alibi since accordingly, he was in the United States at that time. Other similar cases were decided by the court, relying on positive identification, but in the end, it leads to acquittal on appeal.
Positive identification is not 100% fool-proof. Other factors might affect human identification like poor memory, lightning or how well lighted the surrounding is, an incident which happened so fast could lead to shock which the witness might find it difficult to recall the incident. Poor vision, and suggestive acts during police line-up could also lead to confusing positive identification. In the United States, there are also similar injustices committed due to false testimony of witnesses.