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Appeals court considers whether Facebook lookup tainted in‑court ID in Moran case
Summary
In Commonwealth v. Moran, defense counsel argued an in‑court identification by an officer—after searching Facebook and viewing a photo—was unduly suggestive and the admission created a substantial risk of miscarriage of justice; the Commonwealth said the identification was corroborated by circumstantial evidence.
Mike Rusconi, arguing for appellant Darren Moran, told the panel that the critical error in the underlying trial was admission of an in‑court identification by Sergeant Emily Mello that followed a Facebook search. Rusconi described the procedure as effectively a one‑photo, name‑tagged show‑up and said the officer’s later courtroom certainty—"I am 100% sure"—was the single most powerful evidence in the case.
Rusconi argued that Creighton and related case law require constitutionally permissible out‑of‑court identification procedures (non‑suggestive photo arrays or…
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