Ch. 16 Document Examination

1. Ch. 16 Document Examination CSI And Document Examination

2. The Document Examiner Questioned Document – any object that contains handwritten or typewritten markings whose source or authenticity is in doubt. Document examiners.. • Compare handwriting samples • Compare typescript • Study alterations, erasures, and obliterations • Examine indented writings • Examine charred documents • Compare ink and paper

3. The Document Examiner Common handwriting questions addressed by document examiners: • Is the signature genuine? • Is the document simulated/traced, and if so is it simulated/traced by a particular person? • Is the same person the author of several documents? • Which of a group of people wrote an anonymous letter? • Did someone guide a person's hand as a will was signed? • Did the doctor come back later and alter the medical records? • Did the signer of the document also initial the changes? • What is written under the crossed out portion of the writing? • Was the document written on the date indicated?

4. Handwriting Comparisons • Document experts continually testify to the fact that no two individuals write exactly alike. • Many factors comprise the total character of a person’s writing. • The early stages of learning handwriting are characterized by a conscious effort to copy standard letter forms. • However, as writing skills improve, nerve and motor responses associated with the act of writing become subconscious. • The unconscious handwriting of two different individuals can never be identical.

5. Handwriting Comparisons • Variations are expected in angularity, slope, speed, pressure, letter and word spacing, relative dimensions of letters, connections, pen movement, writing skill, and finger dexterity. • Other factors to consider include the arrangement of the writing on the paper, such as margins, spacing, crowding, insertions, and alignment. • Spelling, punctuation, phraseology, and grammar can be personal and help to individualize the writer. • Furthermore, the writing style of one individual may be altered beyond recognition by the influence of drugs or alcohol.

6. Handwriting Comparisons • No single handwriting characteristic can in itself be taken as the basis for a positive comparison. • The final conclusion must be based on a sufficient number of common characteristics between the known and questioned writing samples. • There are no hard and fast rules for a sufficient number of personal characteristics; it is a judgment call made by the expert examiner in the context of each case.

7. Handwriting Exemplars • The collection of an adequate number of known writings (exemplars) is most critical for determining the outcome of a handwriting comparison. • Known writings must be adequate to demonstrate Natural Variations: normal deviations found in an individual’s handwriting samples. • Known writing should contain some of the words and combination of letters present in the questioned document and be adequate in number to show the range of natural variations in a suspect’s writing. • The writing implement and paper should also be alike.

8. Handwriting Exemplars • Handwriting samples can be obtained by court order. • Courts have ruled that this does not violate 4th or 5th amendment rights. To avoid deception: • Several pages of writing are required • Writing of dictation. • Suspects are not told how to spell words or what punctuation to use. • Dictation of text is carried out multiple times

9. Typescript Comparisons • Document examiners examine documents produced by photocopiers, faxes, printers and typewriters. • These devices are often identified by inconspicuous defects Common Questions • Can the make and model of the machine that produced a document by identified? • Was a questioned document produced by a suspect machine?

10. Typescript Comparison • Photocopiers – defect on glass or inner cover can be unique points of comparison. • Fax Machines – Transmitting Terminal Identifier (TTI) is a useful point of comparison • Computer printers-print technology and type of ink are points of comparison; defect patterns are also examined. • typewriters-mechanical defects are useful for comparison

11. Alterations, Erasures, and Obliterations • Erasure-the removal of writing, typewriting, or printing from a document, normally accomplished by either chemical means or an abrasive instrument • Can be identified using microscopy, UV, or IR light. • Infrared light can also be used to detect different inks used on a document that was altered.

12. Alterations, Erasures, and Obliterations • Obliteration – blotting out or smearing over writing or printing to make the original unreadable -Infrared light can be used to detect layers of ink. Charred documents – any document that has become darkened and brittle through exposure to fire or excessive heat. - Infrared photography can often be used to reveal the contents of the original document.

13. Indented Writings Indented writings- impressions left on paper positioned under a piece of paper that has been written on • It may be possible to determine what was written by the impressions left on a paper pad. • Applying an electrostatic charge to the surface of a polymer film placed in contact with a questioned document will visualize indented writings.

14. Ink and Paper Comparisons • A study of the chemical composition of the ink used on documents may verify whether or not known and questioned documents were prepared by the same pen. • United States International Ink Library-database of 8500 inks maintained by the Secret Service and IRS. • Physical and chemical characteristics of paper can also be examined and compared.