Comprehensive Study Notes on Questioned Document Examination and Historical Writing Materials, History, and Forensic Procedures

Historical Development of Writing Materials

Papyrus * Timeline: Came into use about $3,500\,\text{B.C.}$ . * Usage: Employed by the people of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Southern Europe. * Source: Derived from the pith (soft spongy tissue of the stem) of the sedge, a grass-like herb known as CYPERUS PAPYRUS.
Parchment * Composition: A writing material made from the skin of animals, primarily sheep, calves, or goats. * Development: Probably developed in the Middle East contemporaneously with papyrus. * Adoption: Came into wide use in the $2^{nd}\,\text{century B.C.}$ in the city of PERGAMUM in ANATOLIA.
Vellum * Composition: Writing materials made from the fine skins of young calves or kids. * Terminology: The term was often used broadly for all types of parchment manuscripts. * Significance: Became the most important writing material for bookmaking, while standard parchment continued to be used for special manuscripts. * Alternative Surfaces: During the early period, almost every portable surface capable of retaining marks from a pen or brush was used as writing material.

Historical Background of Writing Instruments

Reed Pens / Swamp Reed * Origin: Sourced from specifically selected water grasses found in Egypt, Armenia, and along the shores of the Persian Gulf. * Preparation: Prepared by placing the grasses under dung heaps for several months. * Features: The first writing tool with a writing end slightly frayed like a brush. * Usage Timeline: First used in the NEAR EAST around $2,000\,\text{years B.C.}$ on papyrus and later on parchment.
Quill Pen * Source: Could be made from the outer wing feathers of any bird, though feathers from goose, swan, crow, and (later) turkey were preferred. * Earliest Reference: Cited in the $6^{th}\,\text{century AD}$ by the Spanish theologian ST. ISIDORE OF SEVILLE. * Longevity: Served as the principal writing implement for nearly $1300\,\text{years}$ .
Steel Point Pens * Early History: Bronze pens may have been known to the Romans; however, the earliest mention of "BRAZEN PENS" occurred in $1465$ . * Calligraphy: In $1548$ , Spanish calligrapher JUAN DE YCIAR mentioned brass pens for very large writing in his manual. * Widespread Use: Metal pens did not become widespread until the early part of the $19^{th}\,\text{century}$ .
Fountain Pens * Lewis Waterman: In $1884$ , this New York insurance agent patented the first practical fountain pen featuring its own ink reservoir. * Mechanism: Waterman invented a mechanism that fed ink to the pen point via capillary action, ensuring an even flow during writing.
Ball Point Pens * John Loud: In $1888$ , Loud patented the first ballpoint writing tool. * Functionality: Features a small rotating metal ball in its point that continually inks itself as it turns.

Fundamental Concepts of Document Examination

Questioned Document * Defined as a document questioned because of its origin, contents, or the circumstances regarding its production, which arouse serious suspicion as to its genuineness. * It may be adversely scrutinized simply because it displeases someone. * It is a document to which an issue has been raised or which is under scrutiny. It is the focal point of examination for the examiner and is also known as a disputed document.
General Definition of Document * Any material containing marks, symbols, or signs (either visible or partially visible) that convey a meaning to someone. This may take the form of pencil or ink writing, typewriting, or printing on paper.

Kinds of Documents

Public Document: Notarized by a notary public or competent public official with solemnities required by law (Ref: Cacnio vs. Baens, $5\,\text{Phil}.742$ ).
Official Document: Issued by the government, its agents, or officers authorized to issue such documents in the performance of their duties.
Private Document: Executed by a private person without the intervention of a notary public or legally authorized person; these document dispositions or agreements are proved, evidenced, or set forth (Ref: US vs. Orera, $11\,\text{Phil}.596$ ).
Commercial Document: Executed in accordance with the Code of Commerce or Mercantile Law, containing dispositions of commercial rights or obligations.

The Logical Progress of Inquiry in Document Examination

Step 1: Ascertain the Facts * Select "QUESTIONED", "DENIED", "ADMITTED", "AUTHENTIC", and "DOUBTFUL" documents. * Inquiry Regarding the Questioned Document: 1. Is only one signature questioned? 2. Is any specific part of the document in question? 3. Is the date questioned? 4. Is the paper or typewriter used in the document questioned? * Inquiry Regarding Standards: 1. Ensure there are sufficient numbers of authentic comparison documents (standards). If inadequate, obtain more. 2. Determine if standards are authentic for use as evidence.
Step 2: Analyze the Details * Synthesize elements: date, circumstances, conditions, and technical problems. * Inquire about conditions during signing: was it signed while sitting on a wall, on a lap, in bed (lying on back or side), in a moving automobile, or at a bar?
Step 3: Qualify the Case 1. Determine the time needed for examination. 2. Decide if the study can be completed from original papers or if special photo-enlargements are necessary. 3. Evaluate the advisability of photo-enlargements; these are useful for demonstrating the basis of an opinion in Court.

Questioned Document Experts

Conductor of Examination: Preliminary examinations should be conducted by a QUESTIONED DOCUMENT EXPERT.
Definition of an Expert: A person who has attained appropriate education and training, possesses sufficient technical, scientific, and legal knowledge of document examinations, and has broad experience handling cases.
Reasons for Utilization: 1. Assurance of preparedness. 2. Fiscal officers or judges are infrequently confronted with document cases and lack knowledge of expert methods for determining forgeries. 3. To avoid "OFF-HAND" opinions.

Standards for Comparison

Standard Document: A document whose origin is known and proven, legally usable as a sample for comparison.
Types of Standards: * Collected: Specimens executed in the regular course of daily writing activities. * Requested: Documents executed upon the request of an investigator, prepared at one specific time.

Handwriting Identification and Characteristics

Definition: The result of a complicated series of acts combining visible mental and muscular habits acquired through long, painstaking effort.
Characteristics Types: * Class Characteristics: Common to a group; not peculiar to a single person. * Individual Characteristics: Highly personal or peculiar to a particular person; unlikely to occur in other instances.
Writing Vocabulary: * System of Writing: The basic design of letters and writing movement taught in school (learned in childhood). * Habit: Any repeated element or detail that individualizes writing. * Significant Writing Habit: A unique, well-fixed characteristic serving as a fundamental point of identification. * Line Quality: The visible record of basic movements and the manner of holding the writing instrument. * Skill: The relative degree of ability or proficiency shown by the writer. * Rhythm: Balanced quality of movement; can be classified as smooth, intermittent, or jerky. * Speed: Four divisions: slow and drawn, deliberate, average, and rapid. * Shading: Widening of the ink stroke due to added pressure on a flexible pen point or use of a stub pen. * Pen Emphasis: Intermittently forcing the pen against the paper with increased pressure. * Pen Position (Pen Hold): The relationship between the pen point and paper; the angle of the ribs of the pen to the line of writing. * Pen Pressure: The average force with which the pen contacts the paper. * Pen Lifts: Interruption in strokes caused by removing the instrument from the paper; includes disconnections between letters.

Factors Affecting Writing

Natural Variations: The usual/normal deviation found in repeated specimens of an individual's handwriting or typewriter product.
Transitory Change: Deterioration that exists only while a basic cause affects the writer; the writing reverts to normal once the cause is removed.
Tremor: * Genuine Tremor: Caused by weakness of sickness, old age, or illiteracy (lack of skill). * Tremor of Fraud: Deviations intended to mimic legitimate instability but showing signs of calculation.
Writing Conditions: All factors affecting overall quality, including the environment or physical state under which the document was prepared.

Structural Elements of Letters

Body: The main portion of the letter remaining after removing projections, upstrokes, terminal strokes, and diacritics.
Diacritics: Elements added to complete a letter (e.g., "t" crossings, dots on "i" and "j").
Eye/Eyelet: A small loop or curve formed inside a letter.
Foot: The base or bottom of a letter resting on the line of writing.
Baseline: The ruled or imaginary line on which letters rest.
Hiatus: A perceptible gap in writing caused by a pen lift or failure of ink to register due to speed.
Hook: A minute, involuntary talon-like formation at the start of an initial upstroke or the end of a terminal stroke.
Arc: The rounded inner part of an upper curve or bend.
Beard: An introductory up-and-down stroke found in some capital letters.
Buckle Knot: A horizontal or loop stroke used to complete letters such as A, H, F, and D.
Stem/Shank/Staff: Considered the backbone of the letter.

Writing Movements and Physiology

Kinds of Movement: 1. Finger Movement: Uses thumb, first, second, and slightly third fingers. Employed by children and illiterates. 2. Hand Movement: Produced by the action of the whole hand with the wrist as the center. 3. Forearm Movement: Uses shoulders, hand, and arm with table support. Most skillful type. 4. Whole Forearm Movement: Action of the entire arm without resting (e.g., blackboard writing).
Muscles Used in Writing: * Extensor Muscles: Push the pen up to form upward strokes. * Flexor Muscles: Push the pen down to form downward strokes. * Lumbrical Muscles: Combine with extensor and flexor muscles to form lateral strokes.

Bibliotics and Disguised Handwriting

Bibliotics: The science of handwriting analysis; the study of documents and materials to determine genuineness or authorship.
Disguised Handwriting: A deliberate attempt to alter writing habits by inventing a new style or imitating another person.
Methods of Disguise: * Changing slant direction (backhand vs. forehand). * Increasing or decreasing speed. * Deliberate carelessness resulting in an inferior style. * Using the left hand instead of the right. * Substituting hand printing for script.

Classes of Questioned Documents and Signatures

Questioned Document Classes: 1. Questioned signatures. 2. Alleged fraudulent alterations (erasures, additions, interlineations, substitutions). 3. Holographic documents (entirely written and signed by one person). 4. Typewriting/computer prints (same vs. different machines). 5. Age or date issues. 6. Issues regarding production materials (paper made after the date on the document). 7. Writings identifying a person (anonymous/disputed letters).
Signature Definitions: * Signature: A person's name written by themselves as a sign of acknowledgment. * Model Signature: A genuine signature used as a basis for simulated or traced forgeries. * Evidential Signature: Specimen executed on a specific date and time for a specific purpose.
Classes of Signature: 1. Formal/Complete: For important documents. 2. Informal/Cursory: For routine documents. 3. Careless Scribble: For non-important documents (e.g., mail delivery).
Disputed Signature Forgery Types: 1. Simple Forgery: No attempt to make a facsimile of the genuine signature. 2. Simulated Forgery: Free-hand copy resembling the genuine signature. 3. Traced Forgery: Produced by a tracing process. * Carbon Process: Carbon paper interlined between genuine signature and document. * Indention Process: Tracing the outline with pressure to create canal-like indentations. * Transmitted Light Process: Using strong light from behind sheets of paper.

Systematic Steps in Signature Examination

Place questioned and standard signatures in juxtaposition (side-by-side).
Consider handwriting movement/execution (speed and deliberation).
Examine line quality (tremors, smoothness, or hesitation).
Examine beginning and ending lines (blunt, club-shaped, tapered, or vanishing).
Analyze letter design and structure (roundness, angularity, direction).
Check for retouching or patching.
Check connecting strokes, slant, ratio, size, and lateral spacing.
Note: Capital letters are often changed by the writer's whim; do not rely solely on them.

Methods of Document Alteration

Erasure: Removal of information through mechanical (rubber, knife) or chemical (bleaching) means.
Addition: Matter added after the original preparation.
Substitution: Replacing original writing with different writing.
Insertion/Interlineation: Adding material between lines, paragraphs, or entire pages.
Obliteration: Blotting out or smearing over writing to make it undecipherable.

Technical Examination Methods and Instruments

Microscopic Examination: Discovering minute physical details using a microscope.
Transmitted Light: Viewing with illumination behind the paper.
Ultraviolet (UV) Light: Viewing reflected UV or visible radiation; useful for detecting chemical changes.
Infra-Red (IR): Employs invisible radiation recorded on sensitized emulsions.
Oblique/Side Light: Illumination grazes the surface at a low angle to highlight indentations.
Apparatus: * Magnifying Lens: Common hand-lens ( $4\,\text{inches}$ diameter, $2\times$ power) or specialized lenses ( $5\times$ power) with built-in lighting. * Shadowgraph: Pictorial image formed by casting shadows. * Stereoscopic Binocular Microscope: Provides tri-dimensional ( $3D$ ) enlargement. * Test Plates: Transparent glass/plastic with rules for signatures and typewriting (e.g., handwriting slope plates). * Goose Neck Lamps: Table lamps with adjustable shades for oblique illumination.

Care, Handling, and Preservation of Documents

General Rules: * Keep documents UNFOLDED in separate, proper-sized envelopes. * Make photo-enlargements immediately after the document becomes disputed. * Handle photographs instead of originals during case preparation. * Do not touch with wet hands; do not point with pencils.
The "DO'S": * Take papers to the lab at the first opportunity. * Store in a dry place away from heat and strong light. * Use transparent plastic envelopes/preservers.
The "DON'T'S": * Do not underscore, mark, fold, erase, or use rubber stamps. * Do not smear with fingerprint powder or chemicals. * Do not carry in wallets or pockets for long durations. * Do not allow non-specialists to perform chemical tests.

Typewriter Identification

Definition: A machine that reproduces printed characters on paper. A standard typewriter has $44\,\text{keys}$ with $88\,\text{characters}$ .
Class Characteristics: Manufacturer's specs, type size/design, line and letter spacing.
Typewriter Defects: * Mal-Alignment: Synonymous with "alignment defects." * Horizontal Mal-Alignment: Character prints right or left of its proper position. * Vertical Mal-Alignment: Character prints above or below its proper position. * Off-Its-Feet: Type face prints heavier on one side/corner. * Permanent Defect: Abnormality that cannot be removed by cleaning. * Transitory Defect: Abnormality removable by cleaning or ribbon replacement. * Rebound: A typeface defect providing a double or overlapping impression.
Spacing Standards: * Elite: Typewriter in which characters are $12\,\text{inch horizontal}$ .

Questions & Discussion

Q: What is the focal point of document examination where the examiner relies on the determination of the appropriate examination? * A: Standard document.
Q: Which is the highest form of proof addressed to the senses of the court? * A: Real or object evidence.
Q: What are specimens executed in the regular course of an individual's activity? * A: Collected or procured standards.
Q: In document examination, what timeframe defines "contemporary" documents? * A: Documents not more than $5\,\text{years}$ before and after.
Q: A document issued by a public official in the exercise of their office is a…? * A: Official Document.
Q: If a signature on a check matches a genuine one exactly in size and shape, what is the conclusion? * A: Forgery; no signature is exactly the same in all aspects when compared.
Q: What is the term for a fluid or viscous marking material used for writing? * A: Ink.
Q: What is the first step in the procurement of handwriting exemplars? * A: Study of the questioned specimen.
Q: Who is the grandfather of modern graphology? * A: Jean Hippolyte Michon.
Q: What is the study of handwriting to determine personality traits? * A: Graphology.