State v. Commissioner

Robert Michael Sheehan (defendant) was charged with aggravated assault and burglary, with only fingerprint evidence tying him to the scene. Sheehan wanted to call an expert to challenge the accuracy of fingerprint identification techniques, but the trial judge refused, reasoning that Utah case law already treated fingerprint evidence as reliable enough to clear the admissibility bar under the evidence rules. The jury convicted Sheehan, and he appealed.