Questioned Item
Definition
The evidence item recovered from the scene or from an individual, whose source is unknown and which the examiner is trying to link to a specific origin.
- Role
- Unknown-source evidence item
- Compared against
- Known or reference samples
- Goal
- Establish common source or exclude
Common questions
How does a questioned item differ from a reference or control sample?+
A reference sample has a documented, verified source used as a comparison baseline, while the questioned item's origin is exactly what the examiner is trying to establish by comparing it against that reference.
Can a questioned item ever become a known sample later in an investigation?+
Yes. Once an examiner establishes its source through independent evidence, such as a confession or a match to a verified control, it can be used as a known standard in further comparisons.
Related terms
- Class Characteristics
- Features deliberately or systematically imparted to a group of items by design or manufacture, such as the calibre of a bullet, the...
- Individual Characteristics
- Surface features on a fired bullet or cartridge case that arise from random or unique events (tool wear, corrosion, service damage) and...
- Individuality
- The claim that no two persons share an identical friction ridge configuration at any corresponding digit. Supported empirically by the absence of...
- Individualization
- The forensic claim that a friction-ridge mark was made by one specific person to the exclusion of all others; the categorical form...
- Known Sample
- A reference specimen whose source is established and documented. In a comparison, the known provides the target against which the questioned item...