Date of Award
Spring 5-2010
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Criminal Justice
School
Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security
Committee Chair
Thomas Pittman
Committee Chair Department
Criminal Justice
Committee Member 2
Dean Bertram
Committee Member 2 Department
Criminal Justice
Committee Member 3
Kelly Dial
Committee Member 3 Department
Criminal Justice
Abstract
Since the case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, the Daubert criteria is nothing new to forensic science. Today's practices and techniques presented in a court of law are held to high scientific scrutiny. For nearly 100 years, expert witness testimony concerning fingerprint identification has been allowed into courts with little challenge, as it is supported by several areas of research that acknowledge that no two fingerprints are the same; they will remain unchanged during an individuals lifetime, and that fingerprints have a general systematic classification system. In the past, the assumption was always made that palm prints adhered to this criteria as well. In fact, very little research has been conducted that supports all the premises of fingerprints, with this lack of support also being applicable to palm prints. Thus, there is an aim to establish a biological foundation that fingerprints and palm prints can be equated biologically, and therefore it is necessary to conduct vast amounts of research to demonstrate a correlation between second level minutia detail as it exists in fingerprints and palm prints.
Copyright
2010, Kelley Bryant Counts
Recommended Citation
Counts, Kelley Bryant, "Comparison of the Biological Attributes, First and Second Level of Detail of Friction Ridge Skin of the Palms and Fingers" (2010). Master's Theses. 462.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/462