In this episode, Eric kicks things off by stumping Glenn with a geography-themed Mandela Effect—proving once again that memory isn’t always as reliable as we think. Then, the conversation shifts gears as the guys welcome special guest Brendan Max, a seasoned public defender and Chief of the Forensic Science Division in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender, Chicago.
Brendan joins Glenn and Eric to revisit the 2025 FBI/Noblis “Black Box 2” study, a major follow-up to the landmark 2011 research on latent fingerprint examiner accuracy and error rates. While Episode 282 offered a high-level overview, this time the team dives into the finer details—including the study’s extensive appendices, data breakdowns, and performance trends among examiners.
Brendan brings a legal and analytical lens to the discussion, highlighting both the strengths and shortcomings of the study’s design. Together, they examine how examiner behavior, methodology, and error rates have shifted since the original 2009 testing period, and how these findings may influence courtroom testimony and forensic policy moving forward.
This episode is a must-listen for fingerprint examiners, forensic scientists, legal professionals, and anyone interested in how scientific rigor and statistical transparency are shaping the future of forensic identification.
Article is available for free at:
doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112457
