fingerprints

Question 1

fingerprints are

Answer 1

unique, permeant,

Question 2

anthropometry

Answer 2

a method developed by alphonse bertillion to identify repeat criminal by measuring body part with calipers

Question 3

red flags in the fingerprint analysis process

Answer 3

Fat ridges – may be two overlapping
* Different amounts of pressure
* Similar ridge characteristics close to each other – may be “double tap.”
* “shadow ridges” in furrows – may mean two prints deposited

Question 4

WHAT OPINIONS CAN THE EXAMINER
GIVE?

Answer 4

*Identification
*Elimination
*Inconclusive

Question 5

United States v Mitchell

Answer 5

held a five day daubter hearing, allowed fingerprint evidence to be admissible

Question 6

patent print

Answer 6

a print that is completely or mostly visible to the naked eye

Question 7

latent print

Answer 7

means “hidden or unseen” and is not visible, or barely visible, before it is processed.

any friction ridge impressions whose source is unknown is a latent print

Question 8

plastic print

Answer 8

a print that has been impressed into a soft substance forming a three dimensional
mold of the friction ridge detail

Question 9

surface types

Answer 9

*Porous surfaces include paper products, cardboard, and untreated wood
*Non-porous surfaces include metal, glass, and plastic
*Some “semi-porous” surfaces exist; such as glossy paper products

Question 10

latent prints can be processed

Answer 10

optically - photograph
physically - powders
chemically - ninhydrin

Question 11

superglue fuming

Answer 11

Superglue may also be vaporized by placing a small amount of it on a cotton ball that has been
treated with sodium hydroxide; lowering the pressure by use of a vacuum chamber; or
sandwiching the superglue between two sheets of aluminum foil and then pulling the foil apart
to expose the thin layer of superglue

Question 12

persistency

Answer 12

the manner in which skin cells are replaced produces a persistent pattern

Question 13

first level detail

Answer 13

*First level detail is not unique
*It is not limited to pattern type
*It is the description of the general ridge flow in the print

Question 14

second level detail

Answer 14

*It is the path of the ridge, its endings and branching, as well as the sequence of detail and relative positions of these features
*Second level detail requires the existence of first level detail