This course will first examine the pilot study on simultaneous impressions in light of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts's ruling that the application of ACE-V to such impressions does not satisfy a Daubert analysis. Topics to be discussed include study design, results, documentation, error rates, conclusions, and future considerations. The focus then shifts to an in-depth look at SWGFAST’s Standard for Simultaneous Impression Examination, which provides a structured means to address these types of impressions. Attendees will also create simultaneous impressions under the provided ground truth (known) conditions across different surfaces. These impressions will then be developed and examined by the attendees to better understand their appearance in light of the known deposition conditions. Finally, attendees will apply both the presented theory and their practical experience to examine numerous impressions (ground truth unknown) and conduct full written analyses, ideally demonstrating that their conclusions of simultaneity or non-simultaneity are supported by the physical evidence.

This advanced course is designed for examiners who want to learn more about the use of simultaneous impressions in the identification process. If your agency currently doesn’t report identifications based on simultaneity, then you may wish to attend. Research from both the United States and Europe will be presented along with the SWGFAST position on this important topic.