---
title: "Police Practices Expert’s Testimony on Eyewitness Identifications Admitted"
meta:
  "og:description": "The police practices expert was permitted to testify about suggestive identification procedures, as long as he refrained from opining on psychological effects"
  "og:title": "Police Practices Expert’s Testimony on Eyewitness Identifications Admitted"
  author: "Expert Witness Profiler"
  description: "The police practices expert was permitted to testify about suggestive identification procedures, as long as he refrained from opining on psychological effects"
---

# Police Practices Expert’s Testimony on Eyewitness Identifications Admitted

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Expert Witness Profiler

This litigation arises from Plaintiff Raymond Flanks’ (“Plaintiff”) wrongful conviction for first-degree murder in 1985. Plaintiff alleged that the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (“OPDA”) secured his wrongful conviction in violation of his constitutional rights by withholding material exculpatory evidence.

Plaintiff retained [William Brooks](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/expert-witness/William-Brooks/1569706) as an expert in police policy and practices. Brooks makes three primary conclusions in his expert report:

(1) In 1983, New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) did not have adequate written policies regarding photo arrays;

(2) In 1983, NOPD had inadequate training and supervision, which created a risk of suggestive identification procedures that could lead to a mistaken identification and possibly a wrongful conviction; and

(3) The identification procedure that Dillmann used in this case had two significant problems: Dillmann steered Mrs. Carnesi to identify Plaintiff and Dillmann used inappropriate “fillers” in the photo array he showed Mrs. Carnesi.

The City Defendants contended that Brooks’ testimony should be excluded for four reasons: (1) Brooks’ opinions are outside the area of his expertise; (2) Brooks’ testimony will mislead the jury and confuse the issues; (3) Brooks’ opinions on NOPD’s policy on identification procedures are not based on any reliable methodology; and (4) expert testimony is not needed to establish that police should not tell witness who to pick in a lineup.