United States v. Wade (1966)
- Docket
- 334
- Decided
- 1966-01-01
Summary
Question: Does a lineup conducted without notifying a suspect's counsel require exclusion of an in-court identification of a suspect by a witness be excluded from trial? Conclusion: Maybe. In a 5-4 decision, Justice William J. Brennan vacated the lower judgment and remanded to determine whether the employees based their trial identifications solely on the lineup. The Supreme Court affirmed that the lineup did not violate Wade’s privilege against self-incrimination. To decide the Sixth Amendment issue, courts must decide whether counsel’s presence at a pre-trial confrontation of the accused will preserve the accused’s right to a fair trial. In this case, Wade was entitled to counsel at the lineup. The Court held that the identifications should not be excluded if they were based on observations other than the lineup. Justice Hugo L. Black dissented in part and concurred in part, expressing that the lineup violated Wade's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. Justice Black would affirm the conviction, though, because the prosecution did not use evidence of the lineup at trial. Justice Byron R. White dissented in part and concurred in part, stating that Wade was not entitled to counsel at the lineup. Justice John M. Harlan and Justice Potter Stewart joined in the opinion. Justice Abe Fortas concurred in part and dissented in part, stating that the lineup violated Wade’s privilege against self-incrimination. Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice William O. Douglas joined in the opinion.