Academic Paper Highlights Need to Tighten Rules for Fingerprint Evidence in Light of False-Positive Error Rate – Criminal Legal News
A new study published in the UCLA Law Review reveals a potential for rule tightening on the use of fingerprint evidence in the U.S. judiciary.
“The Reliable Application of Fingerprint Evidence,” written by University of Virginia School of Law professor Brandon Garrett, focuses on the State v. McPhaul decision in the North Carolina Court of Appeals in November 2017.
The defendant, Juan McPhaul, faced charges of attempted first-degree murder, assault, and robbery with a dangerous weapon stemming from a Domino’s Pizza delivery in North Carolina. In retracing McPhaul’s steps, law enforcement pulled fingerprint data from pizza and chicken wing boxes and other items seized from the address associated with his order. The prints were cited as evidence in the successful prosecution of McPhaul in trial court.
