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In an undated typed report released to defense attorneys in June, Clayton said he asked whether she recognized the player. Clayton did not return phone calls for an explanation of which question he asked, or both.

On April 4, Sgt. Mark Gottlieb conducted a third lineup session, using a procedure suggested to him by Nifong. Gottlieb met with the accuser at the police substation at Northgate Mall. He told her she was going to view pictures of the people who attended the party. He showed her mug shots of all 46 white players. (He did not show the team's lone black player because the accuser said her assailants were white.)

How it can go wrong

As the senior investigator on the case, Gottlieb should not have been running the ID procedure, said Wells and Cutler.

Social scientists widely accept that a test administrator privy to answers can unintentionally influence the outcome of the test. A common example is a pharmaceutical trial, where some patients take the tested drug and others get a placebo, such as a sugar pill. Or some patients take an older drug, and some take the new drug being tested. In both cases, doctors don't know which drug their patients are taking.

"It's not because we don't trust the medical profession but because we know from extensive experiments that when a person giving a test knows the answer, that person tends to influence the person taking the test," Wells said.

In a criminal case, Wells said, it could mean that if a witness picks the wrong person in a photo lineup, a police officer might urge the witness to "take your time." Or if the witness picks the suspect, a police officer might congratulate the witness on a job well-done, thereby solidifying the witness' confidence in the pick.

"Not only can a lineup administrator influence who the witness picks but how they feel about the pick," Wells said.

According to Wells and Cutler, police must give a witness the chance to pick the wrong person. This is why photo lineups contain fillers -- photos of people who resemble the suspects but are demonstrably innocent.

Durham police showed the accuser only photos of Duke lacrosse players, with no fillers. The District Attorney's Office and police had declared all 46 players suspects.

"It's a multiple-choice test with no wrong answers," Wells said.

Wells said he would have urged Durham police to include photos of lacrosse players from other universities.

"You mix them in, and if the witness doesn't know ... or is making it up, she'll pick the fillers," Wells said. "We'd know we have a problem. As it is, I could pick a suspect out of that lineup."

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