Mena

When a trial court denies a defendant’s motion for a physical lineup and the defendant does not seek writ review of that ruling, is the defendant barred from raising the issue on postjudgment appeal? The Court of Appeal said yes, reasoning that a failure to challenge the ruling by writ undermines the purpose of the lineup right conferred under Evans v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 617 [ 114 Cal.Rptr. 121 , 522 P.2d 681 ] (Evans) and prevents the reviewing court from fashioning relief if it finds error. Although writ review may be the more effective means of protecting a defendant’s right to a lineup, we decline to impose a writ requirement as a prerequisite to raising the issue on appeal. The right to appeal after judgment is statutory. We have historically been hesitant to create procedural bars to the exercise of that right.

Alternatively, the Court of Appeal assumed the issue was preserved and that the trial court erred. The Court of Appeal properly concluded that any error was harmless. Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

In reaching this conclusion, we clarify the source of the due process right relied on by the Evans court to require a lineup in appropriate…