Forensic Document Examiners: The Tools Used by Professional Handwriting Analysts

Forensic Document Examiners can often provide important, even critical testimony in both civil and criminal legal cases. Their expert opinions can help prosecute or exonerate suspects accused of crimes such as forgery, identity theft, embezzlement, larceny and fraud as well as those facing such heinous charges as kidnapping or even murder.

But for their opinions to be considered credible in a court of law, Forensic Document Examiners must carefully and scientifically analyze the evidence in question. For this purpose, Professional Document Examiners rely on a number of key pieces of equipment and proven analytical techniques. Some of that equipment may include:

1) Specialized Light Sources, Magnifiers and Microscopes: While the single most important tools of the Forensic Document Examiner are their own two eyes, because of the intricacy of the materials they are evaluating, specialized lighting and magnification can be critical. For this reason, there are a number of pieces of equipment manufactured specifically for forensic applications, including microscopes, handheld halogen magnifiers, overhead projectors, etc.

Some specific equipment utilized by top Document Examiners: Stereo Star Zoom American optical 7x to 30x twin microscopes; American Optical Comparison Stereomicroscope; Micronta illuminated microscopes; incandescent battery handheld halogen magnifiers; a "reticle" or magnifying eyepiece with a built-in measuring devise; illuminated stand magnifiers, etc.

2) Cameras, Flat Copy Lenses, Overhead Projectors and Transparencies: Pictures may be necessary to further evaluate aspects of a document and Forensic Document Examiners may employ magnified copies of questioned writing on an overhead display both when analyzing and when presenting their findings in a court of law. Cameras such as the Pentex ME with the Pentex Macro 1.4mm lens are often utilized.

3) A UV/IR Spectral Comparators: These machines use electromagnetic wavelengths to reveal different inks and other materials otherwise unnoticeable on a document. This can be critical in searching for indicia of forgery or "cut and paste" on a document.

4) Protractors and Metric Measuring Devises: Important for comparing angles and patterns of letters in writing samples compared to the questioned document.

5) Electrostatic Detection Devices: For special cases, specialized instruments such as an electrostatic detection device can be used along with special toner powders to search for indentations on paper which show writing which has indented the paper because of the pressure put on the original document written above.

6) Computers: Computers have become a large part of the Document Examiner's arsenal of equipment in conjunction with most if not all of the above mentioned equipment.

7) Multiple Samples of Known Handwriting: Always critical to any document or handwriting analysis is a large and varied sampling of known handwriting and/or signatures of the subject author of the questioned document or signature. Forensic Document Examiners attempting to validate a signature, for example, may require multiple samples of the party's signature on checks, tax returns, legal documents, letters, etc., particularly from a timeframe near the time of the writing of the questioned document, as handwriting does change somewhat over time and under certain conditions.

These are just some of the basic tools of the Forensic Document Examiner's trade. Clearly, Professional Document Examination is a serious science which involves specialized knowledge and equipment. Any individual in need of the services of a Document Examiner should inquire into the equipment that they have in their laboratory as one test of their professionalism and dedication to their science.