1.4_QUESTIONED DOCUMENT

Document examiner

one who studies scientifically the details and elements of documents in order to identify their source, or to discover other facts concerning them.

• This term is often connected to the term handwriting identification experts, however, nowadays the work has outgrown this latter title and involves other problem that merely the examination of writing.

Expert witness

this term described a witness who by reason of his special technical training or experience is permitted to express opinion regarding the issue, or a certain aspect of the issue, that is involved in legal proceedings.
His purpose in court is to interpret technical information in his particular specially in order to assist the court in administering justice. A document examiner can testify in court as ________

Graphology

the art of attempting the character or personality of an individual from his handwriting.

Examination

is the act of making a close and critical study of any material, and with questioned documents, is the process necessary to discover facts about them.

Comparison

is the act of setting two or more items side by side to weigh their identifying qualities

Collation

means critical comparison or side-by-side examination.

Infrared examination

employs invisible radiation beyond the red portion of the visible spectrum that is usually recorded on specially sensitized photographic emulsion. This _____ or sometimes referred to as heat rays, can also be converted to visible light by electronic viewing equipment which to date has had limited used in questioned document work.

Ultraviolet examination

is invisible and occurs in the wavelengths just below the visible blue-violet of the visible spectrum. These invisible rays react on some substances so that visible light is reflected, a phenomenon known as fluorescence.

Microscopic examination

an examination that is made with the microscope in order to discover minute physical details of an object or specimen

Oblique or sidelight examinations

an examination with the illumination so controlled that it grazes or strikes the surface of the document from one side at a very low angle.

Transmitted light examination

an examination in which the document is viewed with the source of illumination behind it and the light passing though the paper.

Counterfeit

an imitation of something genuine with intent to defraud usually in the form of bank notes and coins.

Pen failure

an interruption in a stroke caused by the failure of the ink of the writing instrument to register on the surface of the paper.

Erasure

the removal of writings, typewriting, or printing from a document. It may be accomplished by two means:
A chemical agents and abrasive erasure.

Ink eradicator

consist of chemical solutions which are capable of bleaching an ink.

Obliteration

the blotting out or smearing over of writing to make the original invisible or undecipherable. It is seldom used for fraudulent purposes because of its obviousness. Covering or smearing over the original writing with an opaque substance often accomplishes smeared-over writing.

Decipherment

the process of making out what is illegible or what has been effaced.

Restoration

describes any process in which erased writing is developed or brought out again on the document itself.

Insertion or interlineations

Includes the addition of writing and other materials between the lines or paragraphs or the addition of whole pages to a document.

Addition

any matter made a part of a document after its original preparation.

Altered document

a document containing some changes either by addition or deletion.

Blank papers

a sheet of paper that contains no visible or readily visible writing.

Secret inks

a material used for writing which is not visible until treated by some developing process or substance.

Writing impressions

are small writing indentions completely devoid of any pigment. They may be young on a sheet of a tablet paper that may be immediately below the one on which writing was done, or they remain after pencil or typewriting has been erased.

Writing offsets

result from a paper coming in contact with fresh inks writing. They may be the mirror of the entire words or sentences.

Pen

a writing instrument used to apply inks to the paper.

Ball point pen

a writing instrument which has its marking tip a small freely rotating ball bearing which rolls the ink on to the paper.

Agraphia

a mental disease in which an individual loses his ability to write although he could still grasp the writing instrument.

Carbon outlined process

a carbon paper is interleaves between the genuine document containing a signature and the document intended to be forged. The outline of the genuine signature is traced with a dry pen or any pointed instrument to make the carbon offset on fraudulent document. The carbon outlined is then traced with an ink to make appear as if it is a genuine signature.

Indention process

It is similar with the carbon outlined process except that the carbon paper was not used. The forger traces the genuine signature using sufficient pressure with the aid of a dry pen stylus or any pointed instruments. The depression or indented signature is thereafter over written with an ink to finish the forgery.

Projection or transmitted light process

in this type, the fraudulent document is on top of the document containing the genuine signature, using a transmitted light gadget, a strong source of light will strike either from the back or bottom of the two documents which superimposed the outline of the genuine signature.

Microphotograph

is a microscopically small photograph.

Photomicrograph

is a magnified photograph of a small object produced by connecting a camera with the ocular of a compound microscope.

Photomacrograph

is a magnified picture of a small object obtained without the use of a microscope but by means of a short focus lens and bellows extensions of greater than twice the focal length of the lens.

Graphometry

analysis of handwriting by means of comparison and measurement.

Indented writings

a term applied to the partially visible depressions appearing on a sheet of paper underneath the one on which the visible writing appears. It may also occur after pencil or typewriting has been erased.

Hesitation

this term applies to the irregular thickening that is found when the writing slows down or stops while a penman takes stock of the position.

Line quality

this refers to the condition of the line itself.

Good line quality

it is characterized by smoothness of writing, regularity of curves and shading.

Poor line quality

Characterized by simulated forges or laboriously disguised handwriting as well as of the handwriting of persons who write very little.

Safety paper

a paper which has been treated in such a way as to minimize the chances of forgery by erasure whether mechanical or chemical.

Calligraphy

the art of beautiful writing.

Cacography

a term that refers to bad writing.

Majuscule

capital letters.

Minuscule

small letters

Alignment

is the relation of parts of the whole line of writing or line o individual letters in words to the baseline.

Superimposing ink

an ink used for blotting or smearing an original writing.

Contact writing

a partially visible writing due to sudden contact of a blank paper into another paper containing a freshly applied ink.

Invisible writing

a writing which has no readily visible or legible writing for they have been made by using sympathetic ink.

Conclusion

a scientific results from relating observed facts by logical, common sense reasoning in accordance with established rules or laws. An expert's conclusion is commonly referred to in, legal, term as his opinion

Exemplars

refers to specimen standards or disputed document which has been used for comparison