United States v. Stephen Michael Kessler, Donald Gene Booth, Inez Eaton Guerrero, Patrick John O'shea, and Cynthia Lorraine

This case is before us a second time, the cause having been remanded for the trial court’s further determination respecting the admissibility of certain eyewitness testimony in United States v. Booth, 669 F.2d 1231 (9th Cir.1981). As we again find an inadequate basis for the trial court’s suppression order, we reverse.

The facts of the case are set forth in our earlier opinion. The eyewitness testimony is from bank tellers asked to view a suspect police returned to the bank in handcuffs an hour after the crime was committed. Appellee Booth states it is crucial to his position that the eyewitnesses filled out identification questionnaires within fifteen to twenty minutes after the robbery and again, after the show-up, and that typically the identification questionnaires filled out before viewing the suspect were vague and general while the identification cards filled out afterwards gave much more specific descriptions.

As an initial matter, the trial court suppressed the eyewitnesses’ testimony apparently on the basis that the show-up was improper insofar as no exigent circumstances required Booth to be handcuffed and taken back to the bank. 669 F.2d at 1239 .

We reversed in…