Reading Comprehension

PT136 · S1 · P2 · Q11 Reliability and Admissibility of Fingerprint Evidence

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Passage A In this appeal of his criminal conviction, the defendant challenges the fingerprint evidence used against him at trial, claiming that fingerprint identification theory has not been adequately tested.

Topic

The reliability and standards of fingerprint identification as evidence in criminal trials

Framework

Present Debate

Main Point

Passage A argues that while fingerprint identification may lack uniform scientific standards, it is a valuable and reliable form of evidence that courts should continue to accept. Passage B, in contrast, points out the lack of objective standards and the unknown error rates, challenging the premise that fingerprint identification is as reliable as claimed. *The Most Valuable Sentences:* - Passage A: (P3). - Passage B: (P1).

Passage A: Court Response to the Challenge

The defendant in a criminal trial challenges the fingerprint evidence used to convict him, focusing on the lack of scientific testing, absence of studies proving the uniqueness of fingerprints, and undefined error rates. He also criticizes the lack of uniform standards among examiners, especially regarding the number of matching features needed for identification.

P2: Concerns About Standards and Error Rates

The defendant argues that examiners don’t have consistent guidelines and references courtroom testimony that there's no standard for “points of identification.” He emphasizes that error rates for fingerprint misidentification aren't established.

P3: Court Defense of Fingerprint Evidence

Although the court concedes that fingerprint evidence isn’t a “scientific law,” it notes a long history of expert agreement on its reliability and widespread courtroom use. The judge acknowledges that more rigorous standards may be helpful, but sees no cause to reject print evidence entirely due to its track record.

11.

Each passage discusses the relationship between the reliability of the practice of fingerprint identification and which one of the following?

  1. the ability of a criminal

    Unsupported Both Passages

    Only Passage A even uses the word "defendant". It never explicitly talks about any relationship between the defendant's ability to expose weakness in the case against them and fingerprinting reliability. We can implicitly tell that the defendant did try to argue that the fingerprinting evidence used against them exposes a weakness in the case against them, because, they argue, that fingerprinting is not established to be reliable. That does not qualify as "the passage discusses", but luckily we don't have to devote any thought to this. After all, the word/idea of a 'defendant' doesn't come up in Passage B at all.

    2% picked this

  2. the personal integrity of individual

    Unsupported Both: personal integrity

    Neither passage brings up the personal integrity of fingerprint examiners (i.e. "fingerprinting isn't reliable because there are unscrupulous examiners who lie about their findings").

    5% picked this

  3. Correct

    differences in the identification practices

    Why this is right

    This connects with 1 or 2 of the overlaps we found: - no established error rates - a lack of uniform, objective standards - no standard for number of "points of identification" to call something a match Since there aren't uniform, objective standards, there are differences. If things aren't uniform, then there are differences. And if there's no accepted standard regarding the number of "points of identification" needed, then the identification practices of one examiner might be "if I see at least 10 matches, it's a match" whereas another might be "if I see at least 12 matches, it's a match".

    Skill tested: Locate Detail · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    85% picked this

  4. the partial or smudged prints

    Unsupported Passage A

    A quick search for "partial" or "smudged" will show us that this idea only shows up in Passage B.

    2% picked this

  5. use of the holistic approach

    Unsupported Passage A

    A quick search for "holistic" will show us that this idea only shows up in Passage B. Also, in B, the holistic assessment itself isn't discussed as a sign that fingerprint identification might be unreliable. Rather, the variability of methods is what's discussed as a sign that fingerprint identification might be unreliable. The author is saying, "Some people do point-counting, some do holistic. Either way, there's no generally agreed-on standard."

    7% picked this

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