Eyewitness Identification Reform in Montana
In 2012, the Montana Law Enforcement Agency (MLEA) released a model policy for eyewitness identification procedures. The model policy includes: blind/blinded administration, proper use of fillers, proper instructions to the witness, witness confidence statements, and audio/video documentation of the identification procedure, if practicable. The MLEA policy also includes procedure for show up identifications. Additionally, law enforcement agencies covering at least 80% of the state’s population are now in reform through voluntary compliance. Policy adopted: 2012.
Read the MLEA model policy and Montana Law Enforcement Agencies in Reform for Eyewitness Identification.
In 2023, the state legislature passed a law codifying the MLEA policy’s core requirements specified above. Additionally, the law provides a remedy of consideration by the court in a determination that an eyewitness statement is admissible and the inclusion to support a claim of misidentification if the statement is admitted. Effective: October 2023.