Kelly Rule (California, 1976)
See People v. Kelly.
Kelly v. State 824 S.W.2d (Texas, 1992)
The admissibility requirements for scientific evidence in Texas criminal courts. Kelly recognized
that reliability was more important than the Frye requirement of general acceptance. Kelly has 3
factors; “(a) [that] the underlying scientific technique [is] valid; (b) [that] the technique applying the
theory [is] valid; and (c) [that] the technique [has] been properly applied on the occasion in
question.”
From the court document THE STATE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS, NO. 1919-
02, THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellant v. MATTHEW MEDRANO, Appellee 09-10-2008
Kent-Morfopoulos Case
See People v. Kent.
Keratinocyte
A cell which is found in our skin. It is the major constituent of the epidermis. In their process of
maturation keratinocytes die and eventually become the horny protective layer of our skin.
http://skincancer.dermis.net/glossary/
Keratinocytes differentiate as they progress from the basal layer to the skin surface.
Keratinocytes are stratified, squamous, epithelial cells which comprise skin and mucosa,
including oral, esophageal, corneal, conjunctival, and genital epithelia. Keratinocyte stem cells
reside in the basal layer. These cells have a low rate of mitosis and give rise to a population of
transient amplifying cells. The major proteins formed within keratinocytes are keratins.
http://www.aad.org/education/keratinocytes.htm 03-08-2003
Keratins
Group of highly insoluble fibrous proteins (of high -helical content) which are found as
constituents of the outer layer of vertebrate skin and of skin-related structures such as hair, wool,
hoof and horn, claws, beaks and feathers. Extracellular keratins are derived from cytokeratins, a
large and diverse group of intermediate filament proteins.
John Edwards
http://www.mblab.gla.ac.uk/~julian/dict2.cgi?3456
Key
A numerical value derived from the ridge count of the first loop beginning with the right thumb
exclusive of the little fingers.
SWGFAST, Glossary – Consolidated 09-09-03 ver. 1.0
Kingston, Charles R.
Charles Kingston did several statistical studies on the uniqueness of fingerprints. In 1964, he
finished his dissertation at the University of California Berkley titled, “Probabilistic Analysis of
Partial Fingerprint Patterns”.
Kirk, Paul Leland (1902-1970)
Along with Vollmer, Kirk established criminology and criminalistics as an academic discipline. In
1950 the University of California Berkeley began offering criminal justice degrees. In 1953, Kirk
authored “Crime Investigation”, one of the first crime scene investigation books to include not only
practical information, but also included theory. Kirk went on to work with C.R. Kingston to
analyze the statistical aspect of fingerprint identification.
Klaatsch, Dr. Hermann (1863-1916)
Dr. Hermann Klaatsch was a Professor of Anatomy and as well as an evolutionist. He is
sometimes referred to in fingerprint books for his early studies on friction skin development. Dr.
Klaatsch researched the volar pads association with the epidermal patterns, grouping the volar
pads of humans and primates together. Subsequent to Kollmann, Klaatsch also gave names to
the different volar pads (1888).
Known Print (Finger, Palm, Foot)
The prints of an individual, associated with a known or claimed identity, and deliberately recorded
electronically, by ink, or by another medium (also known as exemplars).
SWGFAST, Standard Terminology of Friction Ridge Examination 3-23-11 ver. 3.0
Aka Exemplars or Standards.
Koehler, Jonathan Jay Ph. D.
Jonathan “Jay” Koehler has a PhD in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Chicago. His
areas of interest include behavioral decision theory, quantitative reasoning in the courtroom,
forensic science, and behavioral finance. Prior to joining Northwestern in 2010, he was a
professor at Arizona State University (business and law schools), and a University Distinguished
Teaching Professor at University of Texas at Austin (business). He was also a visiting scholar at
Harvard (psychology) and Stanford (law).
Dr. Koehler is considered to be a minor critic of forensic sciences. His main criticisms are:
-Examiners should undergo mandatory testing by external agencies. This testing should be done
frequently, blind, and represent latents that mirror those found in actual case work.
-Fingerprints haven’t been able to satisfy the Daubert conditions but courts have been reluctant to
exclude fingerprint evidence so they offer some sort of unscientific reasoning for admitting them.
As an example, has a sufficient amount of testing been done? Some judges have determined
that 100 years worth of court use counts as testing.
-Experts describe by exaggeration (100% match, no possibility of error).
-Dr. Koehler admits that fingerprints are not junk science, it has probative value, but how much?
Dr. Koehler believes the probative value of a fingerprint that reportedly matches a source should
be based on two considerations: (1) the frequency with which the match profile occurs in the
relevant population, and (2) the rate at which false match errors occur. He also believes that in
the special cases where the false match error rate is several orders of magnitude larger than the
coincidental match rate (which it probably is in fingerprinting), the false match error rate controls
the probative value of the evidence.
-“The assumption of discernible uniqueness that resides at the core of these fields is weakened
by evidence of errors in proficiency testing and actual cases.”
-“…data from a well-known forensic testing program contradict industry boasts of perfect, or even
near-perfect, agreement (30). Since 1995, about one-fourth of examiners failed to correctly
identify all latent prints in this test (which includes 9 to 12 latent prints and palm prints). About 4 to
5% of examiners committed false-positive errors on at least one latent.”
-“Although lacking theoretical or empirical foundations, the assumption of discernible uniqueness
offers important practical benefits to the traditional forensic sciences. It enables forensic sciences
to draw bold, definitive conclusions that can make or break cases. It excuses the forensic
sciences from developing measures of object attributes, collecting population data on the
frequencies of variations in those attributes, testing attribute independence, or calculating and
explaining the probability that different objects share a common set of observable attributes.
Without the discernible uniqueness assumption, far more scientific work would be needed, and
criminalists would need to offer more tempered opinions in court.”
All items in quotes are from: Michael J. Saks and Jonathan J. Koehler, “The Coming Paradigm
Shift in Forensic Identification Science”. Science, Vol 309, Issue 5736, 892-895, 5 August 2005
Kolliker, Rudolph Albert Von (AKA Kolliker, Albert Von) (1817-1905)
Swiss anatomist and physiologist, wrote a prominent textbook on cell theory, Handbuch der
Gewebelehre (Manual of Histology), (1852). He added great contributions to many aspects of
science, namely histology. Alfred R. Hale describes him as the first to study the embryogenesis
of the skin (1848-1849).
Kollmann, Arthur (18??-1941)
In the late 1800’s (1883, 1885), Kollmann of Hamburg Germany, was the first researcher to
address the formation of friction ridges on the fetus and the random physical stresses and
tensions which may have played a part in their growth.
http://www.ridgesandfurrows.homestead.com/scientific_researchers.html 03-08-2003
Arthur Kollmann may have been the first researcher to study the development of friction ridges.
He not only grouped the volar pads of humans but also grouped the volar pads of many primates.
Dr. Wilder credits Kollmann with establishing and naming ten volar pads in humans and the first
to study epidermic markings in different races. Alfred R. Hale describes him as the first
researcher (1883) to suggest that mechanical stresses inherent in growth may influence the
ultimate dermatoglyphic configuration.
Konai, Rajyadhar
Rajyadhar Konai was one of the first people Herschel fingerprinted as a means of identification.
This is noted as the first practical uses of fingerprints. On July 28, 1858, Herschel obtained the
entire hand impression of Rajyadhar Konai as a signature on a contract.
Kuhl, Ben
Ben Kuhl was the defendant in what may have been the first palm print case to be tried in the
United States. He was accused of murdering the driver of a stagecoach and this case has
become known as “the story of the last horse drawn stage robbery in the U.S.A.”. It’s also said to
be “the first palm print ever to be testified to in U.S. Courts”. The murder happened in Dec. 1916,
and the trial date is unknown. Others have said the first palm print case may have been the Betts
case of Ohio (brought to trial in 1917).
See State of Nevada v. Kuhl 1918.
Kuhne, Frederick
Author of the first textbook on fingerprints in the United States. “The Finger Print Instructor” was
published in 1916. While there were other books published on fingerprints, Kuhne’s was the first
to be considered a textbook in the strict sense of the word.
Kumho Tire Company v. Carmichael (1999)
This ruling extended Daubert to include all types of expert testimony. Including technical and
other specialized knowledge.