General instructions

Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, you have heard all the evidence and the arguments of the attorneys. And now it’s my duty to instruct you on a law that applies to this case. The law requires that I read the instructions to you.

You must base your decision on the facts and the law. You have two duties to perform: first, you must determine the facts from the evidence received in the trial and not from any other source. A fact is something proved directly or circumstantially by the evidence or by stipulation. A stipulation is an agreement between attorneys regarding the facts.

Second, you must apply the law that I state to you to the facts as you determine them and in this way arrive at your verdict. You must accept and follow the law as I state it to you, whether or not you agree with the law. If anything concerning the law said by the attorneys in their arguments or at any other time during the trial conflicts with my instructions on a law, you must follow my instructions.

You must not be influenced by pity to a defendant or by prejudice against him. You must not be biased against the defendant, because he has been arrested for this offence, charged with the crime or brought to trial. None of the circumstances is evidence of guilt, and you must not infer or assume from any or all of them that he is more likely to be guilty than innocent. You must not be influenced by mere sentiment, conjecture, sympathy, passion, prejudice, public opinion or public feeling. Both the people and the defendant have a right to expect that you will conscientiously consider and weigh the evidence, apply the law and reach a just verdict regardless of the consequences.

If any rule, direction or idea is repeated or stated in different ways in these instructions no emphasis is intended and you must not draw any inference because of its repetition. Do not single out any particular sentence or any individual point or instruction and ignore the others. Consider the instructions as a whole and each in light of the others. The order in which the instructions are given has no significance as to the relative importance.

Statements made by the attorneys during the trial are not evidence, although if the attorneys have stipulated or agreed to a fact you must regard that fact as conclusively proved. If an objection was sustained to a question, do not guess what the answer might have been, do not speculate as to the reason for the objection. Do not assume to be true any insinuations suggested by a question, asked to a witness. A question is not evidence and may be considered only as it enables you to understand the answer. Do not consider for any purpose any offer of evidence that was rejected or any evidence that was stricken by the court. Treat it as though you had never heard of it.

You must decide all questions or facts of this case from the evidence received in this trial and not from any other source.

Examination of Fingerprint Expert

• Detective Marlow, can you explain to the Jury first of all how fingerprints come about?

• Well, a fingerprint is the impression left by the ridges of the skin on the tips of the finger. The body exudes certain oils and acids. When you touch something with your fingertips, you leave the impression of the ridges which are on your fingers.

• Are fingerprints unique or is it theoretically possible for two people to have the same fingerprint?

• No one has ever discovered a duplicate of the fingerprint, even on the same person or an identical twin. So it is possible to identify an individual with just one impression.

• Can a person’s fingerprints change over time?

• No. Despite such factors as ageing and environmental influences a person’s fingerprints do not change.

• Now – what is a latent fingerprint, detective Marlow?

• A latent fingerprint is an invisible or unseen fingerprint. It is caused by the perspiration through the sweat pores on the ridges of the skin being transferred to some surface. Fingerprints also occur as residues when the finger ridges have then contaminated with such materials as oil, dirt, blood or grease.

• Are there other types of fingerprints?

• There are three different types of fingerprints. One is the type that is made deliberately when the finger is aimed as when somebody applies for a driver’s license, another type is a visible impression left on the substance such as tar or wax, and the third type is the latent prints we will be discussing here, which is what you get when you touch a hard smooth surface, the oils and acids would be left behind.

• How would you process latent fingerprints?

• We would process this type with a powder and a feather and we will apply dust over the area with the feather. The powder would adhere to those acids. Then we would lift them with a clear plastic tape and apply it to a card of contrasting colors.

• Once you have obtained impressions of the fingerprints how do you compare them for identification purposes?

• We take them to the lab and compare them with known prints.

• And what is it you’re looking for in this comparative process, detective Marlow?

• Well, it’s the ridge detail of the prints including ends of ridges, their separations and their relationships to each other that constitutes the basis for identification of fingerprints. It takes from ten to twelve points for identical characteristics to establish individual identity.

• How are these points classified?

• The major fingerprint patterns are known as arches, loops and whorls. And they come in different variations such as the plain arch, the double loop etc.

• Thank you, detective. That is all.