Opinion ID: 710248
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Motion to Strike Testimony of Fingerprint Expert

Text: 45 In cross-examining Leonard Dreibelbis, the defense asked the fingerprint specialist to identify the nine points of identity he discerned in comparing the known prints of Otto Jones with prints found on the counterfeit currency found in Ann Jones' waistband and elsewhere in the Jones home. Dreibelbis indicated that he didn't know exactly what all the points are (Tr. 360), explaining that he had not prepared a written report of his examination (Tr. 361), that he could not identify any points of similarity in the prints on the witness stand without a magnifying glass (Tr. 371, 377), and that although he had prepared enlarged photographs of the prints which could be used to identify the points of identity, he had not brought them to court on the government's instruction (Tr. 366-67, 371). The defendants moved to strike Dreibelbis' testimony, contending that they were precluded from cross-examining him effectively as to the data underlying his opinion. The district court denied the motion, and Mr. Jones renews his objection on appeal. 46 We find no merit in the challenge, however. Evidentiary matters are committed to the district court's sound discretion. United States v. Hubbard, 61 F.3d 1261, 1272 (7th Cir.1995). Although we readily agree with Mr. Jones that the defendants were entitled to probe the basis for Dreibelbis' opinion on cross-examination, no undue restriction was imposed on that right here. Neither defendant sought a continuance during which Mr. Dreibelbis might have obtained the magnifying glass or the photographic enlargements he required in order to identify the points of identity in the prints he had examined, and so far as the record reveals, a short continuance would have resolved the situation altogether. We held in United States v. Bastanipour, 697 F.2d 170, 176-77 (7th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1091, 103 S.Ct. 1790, 76 L.Ed.2d 358 (1983), that an expert's failure to retain materials underlying his opinion went to the weight, rather than the admissibility, of his opinion. We reach the same conclusion here. Mr. Jones hints at a malevolent purpose in the government's instruction to Dreibelbis not to bring the photographic enlargements with him to court; but the record does not confirm any wrongdoing. At most, the government's instruction to Dreibelbis (whatever its aim) merely required a delay for purposes of obtaining a magnifying glass or the enlargements he had prepared. In this context, the defendants' decision to forego the continuance and instead highlight on cross-examination the absence of materials that would support Dreibelbis' opinion must be viewed as a tactical decision by the defense. See Bastanipour, 697 F.2d at 177; United States v. Mangan, 575 F.2d 32, 47-48 (2d Cir.) (Friendly, J.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 931, 99 S.Ct. 320, 58 L.Ed.2d 324 (1978).