Posted by Lt. R.J. Garrett, SCSA; FFS; Middlesex Cty.(NJ) Pros. Office on January 26, 2000 at 21:38:03:
I have been examining latent prints for over twenty years and
have testified numerous times as as an expert in Superior
Court. I currently supervise the crime scene investigation unit
for my office. I have viewed both the latent and inked photos and
can only conclude that the Scottish examiners participated
in a lot of wishful thinking. This is clearly a case
where the examiners started with the inked impression
and then interpreted the "blurs and ghosts" of the latent
print as matching minutiae. They also became slaves to
just counting points as evidenced by their repeated efforts to
use one true ridge event as two identifying points. There
are also a number of inconsistencies which can't be
explained away. Other examiners in my office have also
viewed these two prints and concur...NO MATCH.