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A recent case in which a Baltimore County judge barred the use of fingerprint evidence in a homicide trial reflects a growing concern about the reliability of the long-used identification technique.

In her ruling, Judge Susan M. Souder described fingerprinting as “a subjective, untested, unverifiable identification procedure that purports to be infallible.” She is believed to be the first U.S. judge to exclude fingerprint evidence for such a reason.

Prosecutors Shocked

The decision came as a shock to prosecutors who immediately sought to delay the trial of a young man accused of killing a merchant at Security Square Mall in 2006.

“This ruling virtually overturns 100 years of jurisprudence with respect to the admissibility of latent fingerprint evidence,” said prosecutor Jason League.

Fingerprint Evidence Under Scrutiny

For over a century, fingerprint evidence has been a kind of gold standard for identifying crime suspects. However, some critics argue that fingerprint identification is as much a skill as it is a science—a skill that relies on human evaluation, and humans make mistakes.

“Basically, it’s a ‘trust me’ forensic science and that’s scary,” said mathematician Sandy L. Zabell of Northwestern University.

Fingerprint analysts match the intricate patterns of swirls, loops and arches on the fingers and palms using a meticulous process. Still, critics say their methods are not infallible.

“They dramatically oversell their opinion. The claim of 100 percent certainty is absurd. There is no recognition (of) how blurry the lines are between those choices, the amount of gray area there is in making these decisions,” said Robert Epstein, assistant federal public defender in Philadelphia.

Case in Point

Judge Souder cited the case of Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield, who the FBI linked by fingerprint evidence to the 2004 terrorist bombing in Madrid, Spain. The prints belonged to another man, and Mayfield received an official apology from the Justice Department and a $2 million award.

(Source: Baltimore Sun online)

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