Fingerprints as New Drug-Detection Method by James Mills by James Mills When law enforcement wants to screen a person for drug use, they usually must collect some kind of invasive physical sample from the suspect. Urine, blood, and hair are all common choices. Now drug use may soon be detectable …

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In March 2004, four commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, were bombed. Spain’s National Police recovered a blue plastic bag filled with detonators and traces of explosives. Forensic experts used the standard practice of fumigating the bag …

Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Desorption electrospray ionization, a type of mass spectrometry (“DESI-MS”), is being studied as a way to analyze overlapping or weak fingerprints, solving an age-old problem of evidence quality. For over a …

Non-Toxic Fluorescent Spray Reveals Fingerprints in Seconds by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney A team of scientists from China’s Shanghai Normal University in collaboration with scientists from the United Kingdom’s University of Bath have developed a fluorescent spray that reveals fingerprints in seconds without compromising any potential DNA evidence. The …

AI Disrupts Established Forensic Fingerprint Analysis—Not Every Fingerprint Is Unique by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Knott On January 10, 2024, Forensic Mag delivered astonishing news: Research out of Columbia University and the University at Buffalo radically challenged the long-held belief that fingerprints from different fingers of the same …

Fourth Circuit: Evidence Suppressed Where Officers Seized Defendant Without Reasonable Suspicion and Forced Him to Prove He Was Not Armed by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held a district court erred in denying a defendant’s suppression motion regarding an unreasonable …

Iowa Supreme Court: Warrantless Entry Into Home for Misdemeanor Arrest Violates Both U.S. and Iowa Constitutions and Requires Suppression of Evidence by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson  The Supreme Court of Iowa held that the warrantless entry of an apartment to arrest the occupant on a misdemeanor charge was unlawful, …

New RECOVER Fingerprint Technology Used to Solve 1983 Cold Case by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian Forensic technologies are constantly being innovated in an ongoing effort to correctly solve crimes and create a better justice system. Identifying the correct suspect is vital to administering true justice. The sole detective …