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Reed v. Maryland9/6/1978
s, Evidence Vel Non The Non Sense of Voiceprint Identification, 62 Ky. L. J. 301 (1974); Note, Voiceprint Identification, 61 Geo. L. J. 703 (1973); Thomas, Voiceprint -- Myth or Miracle (The Eyes Have It), 3 U. San Fern. V. L. Rev. 15 (1974). Even those authors who advocate the admissibility of voiceprint evidence appear to concede that it does not meet the Frye test and argue instead for alternative revised standards under which it might be admissible. See, e.g., Decker and Handler, Voiceprint Identification Evidence -- Out of the Frye Pan and into Admissibility, 26 Am. U. L. Rev. 314, 361-365 (1977); Greene, Voiceprint Identification: The Case in Favor of Admissibility, 13 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 171, 195-197 (1975).
Despite this array, the trial court in the instant case determined that spectrography had achieved the standard of acceptance needed for admissibility. However, the trial court, in holding voiceprint evidence admissible, construed the Frye test to require
"general acceptance . . . within the group actually engaged in the use of this technique and in the experimentation with this technique. . . . e are restricting the relevant field of experts to those who
are knowledgeable, directly knowledgeable through work, utilization of the techniques, experimentation and so forth, that we are not taking the broad general scientific community of speech and hearing science. In that broad community there probably is not acceptance."
We have serious doubts that voiceprint analysis meets even this reduced standard. Tosi's own testimony indicates substantial division of opinion among those who have done work or performed experiments relating to the voiceprint process.
In any event, we find that the trial court's formulation is inconsistent with the proper standard of acceptance necessary for admissibility. The circumstances of the instant case suggest no basis for "restricting the relevant field of experts" to those who have performed voiceprint experiments, and eliminating from consideration the opinions of those scientists in the fields of speech and hearing, as well as related fields, who, by training and education, are competent to make professional judgments concerning experiments undertaken by others. The purpose of the Frye test is defeated by an approach which allows a court to ignore the informed opinions of a substantial segment of the scientific community which stands in opposition to the process in question.
Thus, based on our examination of the record in the instant case, the judicial opinions which have considered this question, and the available legal and scientific commentaries, we do not believe that "voiceprint" analysis has achieved the general acceptance in the scientific community, at this time, which is required under Frye. We therefore hold that testimony based on "voiceprints" or spectrograms is, for the present, inadmissible in Maryland courts as evidence of voice identification. This holding is, of course, subject to reconsideration by this Court if the use of spectrograms or some other technique of voice identification does in the future
achieve the general acceptance of the scientific and legal communities.
Judgment of the Court of Special Appeals reversed, and case remanded to that court with directions to reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County and remand the case for a new trial.
Montgomery County to pay costs.
Disposition
Judgment of the Court of Special Appeals reversed, and case remanded to that court with directions to reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County and remand the case for a new
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