Studied by 0 people
Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
Historical Dating
the verification of age and value of
a document or object
Fraud Investigation
focuses on the money trail and
criminal intent
Paper and Ink Specialists
date, type, source, and/or catalogue various types of paper, watermarks, ink, printing/copy/fax machines, computer cartridges
Forgery Specialists
analyze altered, obliterated, changed, or doctored documents and photos
Typewriting Analysts
determine origin, make, and models
Computer Crime Investigator
investigate cybercrime
Handwriting Identification
Analysts must be able to use microscopes, photography, and chromatography.
Analysis of the “knowns” with determination of the characteristics found in the known
Evaluation of the evidence, including the similarities and dissimilarities between the “questioned” and “known” writing
The document examiner must have enough exemplars to make a determination of whether or not the two samples match.
Handwriting Characteristics
▪ Line Quality
▪ Word and Letter Spacing
▪ Letter Comparison
▪ Pen Lifts
▪ Connecting strokes
▪ Beginning and ending strokes
▪ Unusual Letter Formation
▪ Shading or pen pressure
▪ Slant
▪ Baseline Habits
▪ Flourishes or embellishments
Handwriting Comparison
• No single handwriting characteristic can by itself be taken as the basis for a positive comparison.
• Judgment as to what constitutes a sufficient number of personal characteristics to ensure a match is left to the handwriting expert- no scientific explanation is involved.
• Handwriting is considered to have individual characteristics.
Comparison Difficulties
1. Insufficient number of known writings available for comparison
2. Not enough personal characteristics present in the known writings that are consistent with the questioned materials
3. Few words in the questioned document, deliberately written in a crude, unnatural form to disguise the writer’s natural style.
4. Writing habits may be altered beyond recognition when under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Exemplar
A collection of known handwriting samples
Requested Exemplar
a person is asked to write a sample of the questioned document.
Non-requested Exemplar
previously written handwriting samples are collected.
Differences between Requested and Non-Requested
1. Non-requested exemplars are preferred because it minimizes conscious writing effort
2. Requested writing samples should adhere to the certain conditions
Requested Exemplar Conditions
▪ The subject should not be shown the questioned document
▪ The subject is not told how to spell words or use punctuation
▪ The subject should use materials similar to those of the document (paper & pen)
▪ The dictated text should match some parts of the document
▪ The subject should be asked to sign the text
▪ Always have a witness
Natural variations
normal deviations found between repeated specimens of an individual’s handwriting or any printing device
Gilbert v. California
Petitioner was convicted of armed robbery and the murder of a police officer.
He used a handwritten note demanding money. He gave the police handwriting exemplars, which were later admitted into evidence.
The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination reaches compulsory communications, but a mere handwriting exemplar, in contrast with the content of what is written, is an identifying physical characteristic outside its protection.
U.S. v. Mara
The respondent, Richard J. Mara, was subpoenaed to appear before the
September 1971 Grand Jury in the Northern District of Illinois that was investigating thefts of interstate shipments.
He was subpoenaed to provide handwriting and printing examples, but he refused on the basis that it would violate his Fourth Amendment rights.
Under the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement officers may not compel the production of evidence, absent a showing of the reasonableness of the seizure.
The Government asserts that handwriting and voice exemplars do not invade the privacy of an individual when taken because they are physical characteristics that are exposed to the public.
It argues that, unless the person involved is a recluse, these characteristics are not meant to be private to the individual and thus do not qualify for the aid of the Fourth Amendment.
Class Characteristic
Style
Everyone learned using the Zanar-Bloser or Palmer methods
Simulated forgery
one made by copying a genuine signature
Traced forgery
one made by tracing a genuine signature
Blind forgery
made without a model of the signature
Howard Hughes
______________ was an American
aerospace engineer, business magnate, film
producer, investor, philanthropist, and pilot.
He was best known during his lifetime as
one of the most influential and richest
people in the world.
He eventually became a recluse and was
barely ever seen again until his death in
1976.
Types of forgery
Check Fraud
▪ Forgery
▪ Counterfeit
▪ Alterations
Paper Money
▪ Counterfeit
Identity
▪ Social Security
▪ Driver’s license
Credit Cards
▪ Theft of card or number
Art—imitation with intent to deceive
▪ Microscopic examination
▪ Electromagnetic radiation
▪ Chemical analysis
Contracts—alterations of contracts, medical records
Obliteration
The blotting out or smearing over of writing or printing to make the original unreadable.
If blotting out is done with the same ink as the original, recovery will be very difficult.
Rarely used because it is obvious.
May be detected by:
▪ Microscopic examination
▪ UV or infrared (IR) light
▪ Digital image processing
Erasures
The removal of writings from a document by either chemical or abrasive means.
Can be shown through the use of infrared lighting
Abrasive erasure
sandpaper, razor blade, rubber eraser-- disturb upper fibers of paper
Easily detected by microscopy or side lighting, although it may not reveal original words or letters
Chemical erasure
strong oxidizing agents are placed over the ink—a reaction produces a colorless product
Microscopy will detect a discoloration on the paper
Ultraviolet or infrared lighting may reveal the chemically treated portion of the paper
Infrared luminescence
Some inks exposed to blue-green light will absorb radiation and reradiate infrared light
Alteration
to change the appearance or spelling of a word(s)
•If a(n) __________ is made to a document with a different ink, this can be detected by illuminating the document with blue green light or infrared light
• Differences in the luminescent properties of the inks will be observed
Indented Writings
These are the partially visible depressions
appearing on a sheet of paper underneath the
one on which the visible writing was done.
Indentations can be detected by:
Oblique lighting
Electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA)
ESDA
Application of an electrostatic charge to a polymer film that has been in contact with a questioned document will reveal indented writings.
Applies electrostatic charge to film on top of indented writing, toner/powder is used to preserve what the indented writing says.
Charred documents
may be viewed by IR photography or side lighting.
Digitizing images into a computer using Adobe
Photoshop can also be helpful for all types of altered documents
Forensic Linguist
Experts that look at the linguistic content (the way something is written) of a questioned document.
Language that is used can help to establish the writer’s age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, professional training, and ideology.
Individual Characteristic
The probability that any two individuals will have the same size vocal cavities and coordinate their articulators in the same manner is small. Human voice is a unique personal trait. (_______ _________)
Sound Spectrograph
an instrument that converts speech into a visual graphic display.
At present time, courts have not fully accepted its results—because it has not been generally accepted in the scientific community.
Chromatography
a method of physically separating the components of inks
Types
▪ HPLC—high-performance liquid chromatography
▪ TLC—thin-layer chromatography
▪ Paper Chromatography
Paper Chromatography
Two samples of black ink from two different manufacturers have been characterized using _________ ____________
Retention Factor
▪ A number that represents how far a compound travels in a particular solvent
▪ It is determined by measuring the distance the compound traveled and dividing it by the distance the solvent traveled.
Printing Class Characteristics
1. Type of paper, & printing technology
2. Type of toner or ink used
3. Chemical composition of the toner, type of toner-to-paper fusing used to produce document
4. Impact technology used to apply toner
Printing Individual Characteristics
• Use of the printer results in wear and damage.
• These changes are random.
• Variations in vertical, horizontal, and perpendicular alignment occur
• Defects in typeface also occur.
• Ribbons may also show wear.
Paper Differences
▪ Raw material
▪ Weight
▪ Density
▪ Thickness
▪ Color
▪ Watermarks
▪ Age
▪ Fluorescence
Note 
Flashcard (106)