Forensic scientists or analysts concerned with "individualization" often presume that
features such as fingerprint minutia are unique to each individual. In the United States,
defendants in criminal cases have been demanding proof of such assumptions. In at least two
cases, the government of the United States has successfully relied on an unpublished statistical
study prepared specifically for litigation to demonstrate the uniqueness of fingerprints. This
article suggests that the study is neither designed nor executed in a way that can show whether an
individual's fingerprint impressions are unique.