Lab Print Write Up Jason Lim September 16, 2010
Fingerprinting is the art of recording and identifying fingerprints. Every fingerprint is said to be unique and immutable. The ridge patterns on fingerprints begin to form during pre-natal life and become fully formed by around the seventh month of fetal life. These patterns only change through acts of scarring or alterations, and by doing that it makes the fingerprint even more individual. This is important in relation to fingerprinting's forensic significance because it offers investigators another piece of individual evidence. By identifying ridge patterns and the overall fingerprint type, investigators can run the print through the IAFIS for possible matches.
http://www.policensw.com/info/fingerprints/finger08.html http://forensic-evidence.com/site/ID/ID00004_2.html http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/takingfps.html
A case where fingerprints were the most vital evidence to apprehending a criminal is the Richard Ramirez case, better known as the Night Stalker case. Ramirez terrorized the Los Angeles area in 1984 and 1985; the more the Night Stalker killed, the more brutal and escalated his actions became. When police were investigating one of the crime scenes, Ramirez would be in a different county committing another satanic act later in the night. Surprisingly, investigators did not find any physical evidence that could be traced back to him. It would remain like this until they lifted a fingerprint from an orange Toyota that Ramirez had stolen. Running the fingerprint through the computers, investigators matched the print to the Night Stalker. They would come to find that the fingerprint was the same one found on the window of a house he broke into. Ramirez was apprehended when he was caught trying to steal a vehicle in a neighborhood. The Night Stalker's spree had ended with forty-three counts which included thirteen murders.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/ramirez/terror_1.html
The first triplet's primary identification number is 31 over 25 [(16+8+4+2)/(16+8) +1/1]. Second child's PIN is 31 over 9 [(16+8+4+2)/(8) +1/1]. Third child's PIN is 25 over 31 [(16+8+4+2)/ (16+8+4+2) +1/1]. I expected them to have different identification numbers since there cannot be an exact identical fingerprint copy. They do, however, share the same DNA since they came from the same embryo. When obtaining latent fingerprints, it's important to realize that one is never going to get a perfect lift. What is important is being able to get enough of it that examiners can determine the overall type and some minutiae points. Lifting prints requires chemicals, and they will degrade the print if the chemicals are done in improper order. Sometimes fingerprints cannot be found, and investigators must rely on other prints. Other prints include palm and foot prints, and bite marks. Investigators can compare lines within the palm with the suspect's to see if they match. When infants are born, their foot prints are recorded as a means of identification. The drawbacks to these kinds of prints is that unlike fingerprints, the lines do change overtime, so they become ineffective the older the case gets. Bite mark examination takes into consideration of how one's teeth are aligned to create the unique bite mark. Factors the like mouth arch shape, missing teeth, teeth alignment, and wear patterns all contribute to how a person bites.
If you were to ask this question during the infancy period of lifting fingerprints, then I would say that fingerprint evidence would not qualify based on the Daubert standard. But in our time, fingerprints are a reliable source of evidence. The Daubert factors to consider are whether or not the method is testable, is subject to peer review, has a known error rate, has some relevance to the case, and is accepted by the scientific community. Fingerprint identification can be tested, and it has been tested for over a hundred years. For peer review, any qualified examiner can look at the same print and come to their own conclusions. There is a possibility of a rate of error since an examiner can make a mistake, or he is challenged by another examiner. If the fingerprint evidence is found to be that of the suspect then it obviously has relevance to the case. Lifting fingerprints has been accepted by the scientific community through the use of various methods and chemicals to achieve those latent prints. There are those that say that because some fingerprints are of poor quality should not be admissible in court. Instead of throwing the evidence out, bring in your own fingerprint examiner to cross-examine the evidence. It is foolish to rely on trying to throw out evidence when one can create doubt about the print, and possibly sway the jury to rethink if the evidence is beyond reasonable doubt.
1. Finger ridge patterns are unique and do not change over time unless by alteration. While identical twins may have the same DNA, their ridge pattern still varies. 2. Classifying fingerprints is not easy. Often one will lift a print with vital details missing that are needed in order to identify the pattern type. A print may have one delta shown, but it could have another. 3. Investigators have plenty of methods to lift latent prints at their disposal. From powders to super glue, there are a variety of way to make the print visible. 4. Fingerprints are reliable evidence. It has progressed to be one of the most key individual evidence in identifying suspects. 5. Because fingerprints are unique, they are an excellent choice for biometric security. This allows specific access to personnel depending on whether their fingerprint allows them.
WORKS CITED
Bruno, Anthony. "Night Stalker: Richard Ramirez, Famous Satanic Serial Killer "Satanists Don't Wear Gold" Crime Library on TruTV.com." TruTV.com: Not Reality. Actuality. Web. 17 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/ramirez/terror_1.html>. "Federal Bureau of Investigation - Recording Legible Fingerprints." FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation Homepage. Web. 17 Sept. 2010. <http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/takingfps.html>. "Fingerprint Identification." Unofficial NSW Police Site: The Thin Blue Line - Australia. Web. 17 Sept. 2010. <http://www.policensw.com/info/fingerprints/finger08.html>. "Forensic Evidence.com: Identification Evidence - Is Fingerprint Identification a "Science"?" Forensic-Evidence.com - Welcome. Web. 17 Sept. 2010. <http://forensicevidence.com/site/ID/ID00004_2.html>.