Final Latent Print Uniform Language for Testimony & Reports
Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 7:11 am
The Department of Justice has issued the final, approved document for Uniform Language for Testimony and Reports for the Forensic Latent Print Discipline. It can be downloaded here:
https://www.justice.gov/olp/page/file/1083691/download
Knowledge of this new DOJ document may be crucial under cross examination from opposing counsel on whether a latent print examiner is following the recently released draft document from the OSAC friction ridge subcommittee. That document proposes standards for wording of testimony and reports that relies more heavily on the language of statistics and includes five possible conclusions (strong support for same source, more support for same source than different source, inconclusive, more support for different source than same source, and strong support for different source) instead of the more traditional three conclusions given in the DOJ document (identification, exclusion, inconclusive).
https://www.justice.gov/olp/page/file/1083691/download
Knowledge of this new DOJ document may be crucial under cross examination from opposing counsel on whether a latent print examiner is following the recently released draft document from the OSAC friction ridge subcommittee. That document proposes standards for wording of testimony and reports that relies more heavily on the language of statistics and includes five possible conclusions (strong support for same source, more support for same source than different source, inconclusive, more support for different source than same source, and strong support for different source) instead of the more traditional three conclusions given in the DOJ document (identification, exclusion, inconclusive).