Simmons v. United States

Summary

The Supreme Court affirmed Simmons's conviction, holding that the photographic identification procedure was not impermissibly suggestive under the totality of the circumstances and that the requested photographs were not producible under the Jencks Act on the record presented. The Court reversed Garrett's conviction, holding that testimony given by a defendant to establish standing for a Fourth Amendment suppression motion may not later be admitted against him on the issue of guilt unless he waives the objection. Justice Black concurred in part and dissented in part.

Holdings

1. A conviction based on an eyewitness identification following a pretrial photographic identification may be set aside on due-process grounds only when the photographic procedure was so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. The procedure used to identify Simmons did not meet that standard.
2. The photographs were not producible under 18 U.S.C. § 3500 because they were not part of the witnesses' written statements made and approved before the photographs were obtained. The district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to order production at trial under the circumstances presented.
3. When a defendant testifies in support of a motion to suppress evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds, the testimony may not thereafter be admitted against the defendant at trial on the issue of guilt unless the defendant makes no objection.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Simmons's conviction violated due process because the pretrial photographic-identification procedure was impermissibly suggestive and created a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.
2. Whether the photographs shown to eyewitnesses before trial were producible under the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500, or whether the district court abused its discretion by refusing to order their production.
3. Whether a defendant's testimony given to establish standing in support of a Fourth Amendment suppression motion may later be admitted against the defendant on the issue of guilt.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded