lineup

line up

1. verb To begin to stand in a line. People started lining up last night so they could be the first ones in the store on Black Friday.2. verb To get people to stand in a line. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "line" and "up." Can you line up the kids after recess?3. verb To arrange or organize something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "line" and "up." I lined up several meetings for you today, since you're only in town for such a short period of time.4. verb To be arranged in a straight line; to be parallel. It's really bugging me that those two pictures don't exactly line up.5. verb To arrange things in a straight line or in parallel. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "line" and "up." Can you line those pictures up? The one on the left is crooked, and it's really bugging me.6. verb In sports, to assemble in a particular way before a play begins. The players lined up for the face-off.7. noun A group of suspects that a witness can review in order to, ideally, identify the perpetrator. In this usage, the phrase is usually written as one word. Was she able to identify the perpetrator when you showed her the lineup?See also: line, up

line someone or something up

1. Lit. to put people or things in line. Line everyone up and march them onstage. Line up the kids, please. Please line these books up. Hey, you guys! Line yourselves up! 2. Fig. to schedule someone or something [for something]. Please line somebody up for the entertainment. We will try to line up a magician and a clown for the party. They lined up a chorus for the last act.See also: line, up

line someone or something up (in something)

to put people or things into some kind of formation, such as a row, column, ranks, etc. The teacher lined the children up in two rows. Please line up the children in a row.See also: line, up

line someone up

(for something) Fig. to schedule someone for something; to arrange for someone to do or be something. I lined gardeners up for the summer work on the gardens. I lined up four of my best friends to serve as ushers at my wedding.See also: line, up

line someone up

(with someone) Go to fix someone up (with someone).See also: line, up

line up

to form a line; to get into a line. All right, everyone, line up!See also: line, up

line up

1. Arrange in or form a line, as in Betty lined up the books on the shelf, or The children lined up for lunch. [Late 1800s] 2. Organize, make ready, make the arrangements for, as in They lined up considerable support for the bill, or Nancy was supposed to line up a hall for the concert. [c. 1900] See also: line, up

line up

v.1. To form a line: The students lined up at the front of the classroom. People are lining up to get tickets to the game.2. To arrange some people or things in a line: The police lined the suspects up against the wall. We lined up some chairs in front of the stage. Customers were lined up waiting for the stores to open.3. To organize something or someone for an event or activity; schedule something or someone: I've lined two interviews up for next week. The organizers lined up some great speakers for the rally. The senator is lining up support for the bill.4. To straighten something, or put it in the correct position in relation to some other thing: I lined the text up with the edge of the page. The sniper lined up the rifle and fired two shots at the middle of the target. We lined up the holes and put the bolt through.5. To be straight or in the correct position in relation to some other thing: The holes don't line up—I can't get the bolt in. Does this painting line up with the ceiling?6. In American football, to take one's position in a formation before a snap or kickoff: The players lined up at the scrimmage line.See also: line, up

lineup

n. a row of suspects arranged at a police station so that a witness can identify one of them. (Underworld.) When they round up all the likely suspects and put them in the lineup, they always stick in a desk sergeant to spy on the rest.

Lineup

A criminal investigation technique in which the police arrange a number of individuals in a row before a witness to a crime and ask the witness to identify which, if any, of the individuals committed the crime.

In a police lineup, a witness to a crime, who may be the victim, observes a group of individuals that may or may not include a suspect in the crime. The witness is not visible to those in the lineup. The witness is asked to identify which, if any, of the individuals committed the crime. A lineup places greater demands on the memory of the witness than does a viewing of a single suspect, and is believed to reduce the chances of a false identification. For example, assume a witness saw a man with a beard and a cap run across an alley near a crime scene. If the police show this witness one man who has a beard and a cap, the witness might make a positive identification. If they instead show the witness several men with a beard and a cap, the witness must make a more detailed identification and may not identify the same man.

In Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 86 S. Ct. 1826, 16 L. Ed. 2d 908 (1966), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment constitutional privilege against self-incrimination—the right not to be made a witness against oneself in a criminal case—does not apply to appearance in lineups. That privilege, held the Court, protects accused people only from being compelled to testify against themselves or to otherwise provide the state with evidence of a testimonial or communicative nature.

The Constitution does afford an accused individual the Right to Counsel at a post-indictment lineup, and the right not to have testimony from a suggestive lineup admitted at trial. The constitutional right to the presence of counsel at a lineup or for counsel to receive notice of a lineup attaches, or becomes available, when a formal charge, indictment, Preliminary Hearing, or Arraignment is issued or conducted. Post-indictment lineups are considered a critical part of proceedings because the filing of a charge initiates adversary proceedings, triggering the right to counsel (United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S. Ct. 1926, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1149 [1967]). Counsel observes the lineup to decide whether to offer information about it during trial in order to cast doubt on an in-court identification. (In an in-court identification, the prosecution asks the witness whether he or she identified anyone in a lineup prior to trial and if so, whether that person is present in the courtroom.) According to Wade, an "intelligent waiver" of counsel and of notice to counsel may be made by the accused.

Police lineups that are conducted prior to the filing of a formal charge or the issuance of an indictment are not regarded as occurring at a critical stage of a criminal proceeding and do not require the presence of counsel.

The Due Process Clause of the Constitution requires that a lineup not be unduly suggestive or conducive to irreparable mistaken identification. An unduly suggestive lineup might be one in which the defendant was the only female. Some characteristics that courts have considered in determining suggestiveness is whether the others in the lineup were of similar age, skin coloration, and physical characteristics such as height and weight.

Courts examine on a case-by-case basis the question of whether a lineup was unduly suggestive or created a likelihood of misidentification. In making this determination, they look at the "totality of circumstances." The totality-of-circumstances test was announced by the Supreme Court in Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 97 S. Ct. 2243, 53 L. Ed. 2d 140 (1977). This test considers whether the witness or victim had an opportunity to observe the criminal at the time of the crime; the accuracy of the prior description of the accused as well as the degree of attention given to that description; the level of certainty demonstrated by the victim or witness at the confrontation; and the length of time between the crime and the confrontation. Generally, if the court finds that a lineup violated due process, testimony as to the fact of identification is inadmissible. If the lineup complied with constitutional standards, a person who has identified the defendant in the lineup can testify to that fact at trial.

Cross-references

Criminal Law; Criminal Procedure; Due Process of Law.

lineup

n. a law enforcement method used in an attempt to have a witness or victim identify a person suspected of committing a crime. The suspect is included in a line of people, including non-criminals and others (such as plainclothesmen, office clerks etc.) Law enforcement officials ask each person in the lineup to speak and turn to profile, while the witness or victim studies each of them and then is asked which person in the lineup, if any, committed the crime in his/her presence. One danger with this system is that the officers will suggest by manner or tone which is the suspect, or that one person in the lineup appears, by dress or conduct, to seem more suspicious. This type of identification is precarious at best.

lineup

line·up

line•up

lineup

lineup

line up

line someone or something up

line someone or something up (in something)

line someone up

line someone up

line up

line up

line up

lineup

Lineup

Lineup

Further readings

Cross-references

lineup

lineup

Synonyms for lineup

noun a way or condition of being arranged

Synonyms

noun an organized list, as of procedures, activities, or events

Synonyms

noun a list of candidates proposed or endorsed by a political party

Synonyms

Synonyms for lineup

noun (baseball) a list of batters in the order in which they will bat

Synonyms

Related Words

noun a line of persons arranged by police for inspection or identification

Related Words