United States v. Gregory Christophe

Gregory Christophe appeals his conviction, following a jury trial, of one count of unarmed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a). He claims the trial court erred in refusing to admit the testimony of an expert on eyewitness identification, admitting the testimony of an FBI agent as an expert on fingerprints, and refusing to declare a mistrial when he claimed prosecu-torial misconduct.

We conclude that expert testimony on the unreliability of eyewitness identification was properly excluded. Despite additional psychological studies on this subject since 1973, when we held it was not reversible error to exclude such testimony in United States v. Amaral, 488 F.2d 1148 (9th Cir.1973), this testimony is still properly excluded if it does not meet the four criteria listed in Amaral : qualified expert, proper subject, conformity to a generally accepted explanatory theory, and probative value compared to prejudicial effect. Id. at 1153 .

We also conclude it was not error for the FBI agent to testify, or for the court to refuse to declare a mistrial.

The conviction is affirmed.

FACTS

On February 14, 1986, a black male entered the Los Angeles Federal Savings and Loan…