Thursday, July 24, 2003

Fingerprint Riddle of the Day

Q: When is police fingerprint evidence inadmissible?

A: When a criminal defendant offers it.

A summary of the ruling in United States v. Sutton, No. 02-1679 (7th Cir. July 23, 2003), and a link to the opinion, can be found here.

posted by pn at 9:57 AM  

Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.