Document Examination Flashcards
What is authorship validation?
Determines an unknown author
What is origin certification?
Assesss history and origin of a document, such as determining the date when a document was written
What is a questioned document?
A document where the authorship and/or origin are disputed
What are known handwriting samples called?
Standards
How is authorship validated?
- questioned document is compared with standards
- where authorship is suspected, standards are drawn from a series of suspects
- comparison between questioned documents and standards assess features such as writing style, writing size, writing implement used, paper type and text content
What are the standards collection guidelines? (6)
- Contemporaneous samples
- Ensuring each writing sample is placed on a seperate sheet of paper
- Requesting multiple replications of samples
- Guaranteeing suspect’s ID
- Signed authentication by suspect of each sample
- The questioned document should never be shown to the suspect
What factors affect handwriting characteristics?
- environmental conditions
- state of the author
What are the outcomes of comparison?
- identified: definitive opinion, highly probably, probable, possible
- inconclusive
- excluded
All conclusions are ……….
Opinion based
What are latent impressions?
- accidental markings and indented writing on an underlying document
- eg writing on a top sheet of paper will leave impressions on the bottom sheet due to applied pressure
Oblique Light Photography
- carried out in a dark room
- reveals impressions by the shadows they cast
- disadvantages: process can take hours, requires a high level of expertise and is generally ineffective in the detection of microscopic indentations
Electrostatic Detection Analysis (ESDA)
- specialist machine
- more commonly used
- visualises the impressions on secondary document
- advantages: process completed in a few minutes, easy to use, process highly sensitive to microscopic indentations
ESDA process
- Document placed a brass plate
- Mylar film applied over document
- Electrical charge applied
- Black, negatively charged toner applied.
- Black toner adheres to impression areas as these are positively charged
- Impressions visualised in black toner on Mylar film
- Questioned document is unchanged
What is document handling protocol?
- document should be handled with care: folds, creases or indentations produced after collection will be visualised following ESDA
- handlers should wear gloves at all times
- a record copy should be made
- must control for humidity
- regular calibration of ESDA equipment
- documents should be placed in clear protectors and examined through the protectors
What is the basis of handwriting analysis?
- the handwriting of all individuals is unique
- certain characteristics are repeated in every example of writing
