# Reporters Notebook 

_News_

Canonical: https://www.claimspages.com/news/i777/

A senior federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled that fingerprint evidence does not meet the standards set for scientific testimony and that experts in the field cannot testify that a suspect’s prints definitely match those found at a crime scene. Following a two-year effort by defense lawyers to hold fingerprint analysis to standards set by the Supreme Court in the 1993 Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals decision, U.S. District Judge Louis H. Pollak found that fingerprint analysis had not been subjected to the testing required under those standards.

While fingerprints themselves are unique and permanent, the technique to match them is subjective and scientifically unreliable, Pollak said in his ruling. Therefore, although fingerprint evidence may be presented during the trial, no testimony will be allowed regarding whether the defendants’ prints match prints found at the crime scene.

Sources:
- Claims Magazine (http://www.claimsmag.com/Issues/Feb02/reportersnotebook.asp)