Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 2.800

You should evaluate the testimony of an eyewitness who identified the defendant as the

person the eyewitness saw [committing the crime; involved in the crime] in the same

manner as you would for any other witness, including any biases or motives to lie.

Additionally, even if you believe the witness was trying to tell the truth, you must still

decide whether the witness was accurate about the identification or instead made an

honest mistake. In weighing such testimony, you may consider the following:Whether the

witness had an adequate opportunity to observe the person [committing the crime;

involved in the crime]; circumstances such as [the amount of time the witness had to observe

the person (committing a crime; involved in the crime); the distance between the witness and

the person (committing the crime; involved in the crime); lighting conditions; weather

conditions; obstructions; how closely the witness was paying attention to the person

(committing the crime; involved in the crime); whether the witness knew a crime was being

committed; the extent to which the person’s features were visible and undisguised; whether a

weapon was present that may have affected the attention of the witness], and any other

circumstances you believe are important.You may consider whether the witness had the

ability to observe the person [committing the crime; involved in the crime]. In that regard

circumstances you may consider include [the witness's intelligence; whether the witness was

stressed or frightened, fatigued, injured, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time

the witness made the observations; whether the witness had impaired vision which was

uncorrected at the time the witness made the observations; whether the witness and the person

(committing a crime; involved in the crime) were of different races, because some witnesses

may have greater difficulty in accurately identifying members of a different race], and any

other circumstances you believe are important.You may consider whether the witness’s

identification of the defendant was the product of the witness’s own memory or to what

extent it was may have been the result of outside influences. Circumstances you may

consider include [whether the witness ever gave a description of the person who (committed

the crime; was involved in the crime) and, if so, how that description compares to the

defendant; whether the witness knew or had seen the defendant prior to witnessing the crime;

the amount of time that passed between the crime and the witness’s later identification of the

defendant; whether the witness made the identification after being exposed to any outside

influences or information, which may include any opinions, descriptions, or identifications

given by others, photographs, newspaper accounts, televised or online news stories, or any

other outside information or influences; whether the witness was ever presented with the

defendant and failed to identify the defendant as the person who (committed the crime; was

involved in the crime) or previously identified a different individual as the person who

(committed the crime; was involved in the crime), whether the witness was able to identify

other participants in the crime], and any other circumstances you believe are important.In

weighing the witness’s identification, you may consider whether the procedures used by

law enforcement had any influence on the witness’s identification. For example, you may

consider the manner in which photographs were selected and presented to the witness, or

comments made by the police to the witness.The witness(es) who testified about the

identification of the person who [committed the crime(s); was involved in the crime] do(es)

not have to be certain that the identification he made is correct. A witness may be

unsure and still be correct in his identification. On the other hand, a witness’s confidence

in his identification does not mean that the identification is accurate.This instruction is

not intended to direct you to give more or less weight to the eyewitness identification

evidence. It is your duty to determine what weight to give to that evidence.