Evidence for the belief in live lineup superiority

There are substantive differences in international preferences in the medium through which eyewitness identification lineups are administered, but these jurisdictional preferences are not based in evidence. Regardless of whether one medium produces greater identification accuracy, it is the perception of evidence strength by triers of fact that determines its influence in judicial proceedings. Yet, we know little about how lineup mediums are perceived by potential triers of fact. Four-hundred and six undergraduate students viewed a video interview of an eyewitness describing an identification that took place with one of three different lineup mediums (live, video, photo) to compare their relative persuasiveness. Participants also directly compared mediums. There was a clear preference for evidence elicited from live lineups in direct comparisons, but not in the experimental conditions. Live lineup superiority beliefs exist in policy and, these data show, in the beliefs of potential witnesses and triers of fact when various lineup mediums are directly compared.