NAS Report concluded that the ACE-V method of latent fingerprint analysis is likely not as reliable as often portrayed, however the Court of Appeals found that the NAS Report did not conclude that fingerprint evidence is too unreliable to be admitted at trial. On appeal, defendant did not show failure to challenge the general method …
Fingerprints
The Slow but Steady March Towards a More Reliable Forensic Science
DC public defenders seek wider review into fingerprints, firearms evidence
Forensic Trial Litigation CLE at Duke Law
February 11 (1 pm to 5 pm) and February 12 (all day – 9 am to 5 pm). Forensic evidence, from DNA to fingerprints to ballistics, has never been more important in criminal cases. Actually litigating scientific evidence in the courtroom can be challenging and requires some specialized skills. Duke Law is excited to offer …
Sweeping report urges DC to review every case handled by firearms, fingerprint units at troubled crime lab
Is a Single Fingerprint Enough to Convict?
State v. Moore, 859 S.E.2d 649 (2021) (unpub)
Once the trial court determine that the expert meets the minimum qualifications to testify as an expert, deviations from the method go to the weight of the expert’s testimony, not its admissibility. Referenced State v. Hudson, 218 N.C. App. 457 (2012)(unpub).
A Field Analysis of Laboratory Case Processing: Print Comparison and Examiner Conclusions
Presenter: Brett Gardner. Offered by CSAFE, on June 14, 2021. Recording and materials are available.
A Field Analysis of Laboratory Case Processing: Print Comparison and Examiner ConclusionsRead More
Mt. Everest—We are Going to Lose Many: A Survey of Fingerprint Examiners’ Attitudes Towards Probabilistic Reporting
Presenter: Simon Cole. Offered by CSAFE, on June 14, 2021. Recording and materials are available.
Allegations Against DC Crime Lab Potentially Put Prosecutions in Jeopardy
2021 Forensic Trial Litigation CLE at Duke Law
Friday, February 5 (9 am to 12 pm)Thursday, February 11 (2 pm to 5 pm) Friday, February 12 (9 am to 12 pm) Forensic evidence, from DNA to fingerprints to ballistics, has never been more important in criminal cases. Actually litigating scientific evidence in the courtroom can be challenging and requires some specialized skills. Duke Law …
False Conviction – How fingerprint and firearm experts use misleading math to appear infallible.
State v. McKinnie, 850 S.E.2d 361 (2020) (unpub)
Not error to admit expert testimony from the CMPD fingerprint analyst who testified she did not find any dissimilarities and were similar. The trial court had ruled that under McPhaul since there’s no standard or no recognized methodology to be applied the expert can’t testify that they match. The Court of Appeals found her conclusion …
Fingerprint Error Rate on Close Non-Matches
Research by Jonathan J. Koehler and Siquan Liu on the accuracy of distinguishing between two close non-matches was published in Sept. 2020. Attorneys should be aware of the error rates presented in this paper, particularly when working on cases involving a match to a suspect developed by searching a fingerprint database. As fingerprint databases grow, …
Fingerprint Error Rate on Close Non-Matches
Sept. 2020 research by Jonathan J. Koehler and Siquan Liu on the accuracy of distinguishing between two close non-matches. False positive error rates were 15.9% and 28.1% on the two close non-matches on mandatory proficiency tests that were studied. As the size of fingerprint databases grow, the risk of a close non-match being present in …