Q: What is a forensic document examiner?
A forensic document examiner examines documents to determine authenticity and/or to discover who wrote them. The examiner may subsequently be called to present expert testimony in court to demonstrate the basis and reasons for his/her opinion.
Q: How is forensic document examination different from graphology?
Graphologists analyze handwriting to interpret the writer's character and personality. Forensic document examination involves handwriting comparison to determine authorship and examination of a document as a whole. This analysis can include examination of typewritten or machine-generated documents; detection of alterations; decipherment of obliterated and indented writing; examination of watermarks, rubber stamps, and other impressions; and ink differentiation.
Q: What type of training is needed to do this type of work?
The amount of training generally considered acceptable in this field is 2-4 years, full-time. This is normally accomplished by apprenticeship in a law enforcement crime laboratory questioned document section or under the direct supervision of a qualified private document examiner.
Q: Is it always possible to identify a person's handwriting?
No, there are several factors that may prevent identification. For example, the questioned or known writing may be too limited, or the questioned writing may be disguised to such a degree as to prevent identification.
Q: I have a hand-printed memo. Can this be compared with a person's signature to determine if that person wrote the note?
The general rule is that hand-printing can only be compared with hand-printing, and handwriting must be compared with handwriting. Also, there must be similar text in both documents to be compared. For example, "Jack" cannot be compared with "Bob" because there are no common letters.
Q: I have a Last Will and Testament that was supposed to have been signed by my mother. Can the signature be compared with this one check she signed?
A conclusive opinion cannot be given in a one-on-one comparison. A sufficient sample of known signatures is needed for comparison in order to account for normal variation in a person's signature.
Q: What is variation in handwriting?
Because the human body is not a machine, every person has variation in his writing. No two signatures written by the same person are exactly the same. External factors such as age, illness, intoxication, writing position, writing instrument, and care of execution could affect a person's writing.
Q: By examining a document can you determine whether the writer is left- or right-handed? How about male or female?
In most cases it cannot be determined conclusively whether a person is right or left-handed. There is no way to determine whether a writer is male or female.
Q: My writing looks the same now as it did 30 years ago. How is that possible?
With some people, their writing will look the same over decades. With others, handwriting can improve or deteriorate depending upon such factors as how often they are required to write, their health, or how much they practice their penmanship.