Attendees of the SAFDE Annual Conference and Business Meeting 2019, Pensacola, Florida

What is Forensic Document Examination?

The term “forensic” means simply, “having to do with the law.” Document Examination, as an established field of scientific study, came into being in the early 1900s as a means of identifying forgery and establishing the authenticity of documents in dispute. It grew out of the need of The Court to be able to correctly evaluate document evidence. It has been stated that “Forgery was practiced from the from the earliest times in every country where writing was the medium of communication” (The Law of Disputed and Forged Documents, J. Newton Baker). It was especially profitable in those earlier times of general public illiteracy. For the reason that most of an examiner’s work involves some form of handwriting problem, the field is sometimes referred to as “Handwriting Identification” and the practitioner as a “Handwriting Expert”. Albert S. Osborn, with the publication of his book Questioned Documents in 1910, is rightfully credited with laying the foundation of this field of forensic examination

What is the Scope of Forensic Document Examination?

– Identification of handwriting and signatures – Identification of a document as authentic or non-authentic  – Identification of typewriters, check writers, and photocopies – Detection of alterations, additions, deletions, or substitutions – Deciphering alterations and erasures – Identification and deciphering of indented writing – Comparisons of inks and identification of type of writing instrument

What qualifies someone to be a Forensic Document Examiner?

A Forensic Document Examiner must have a sound basic education through a baccalaureate degree. The typical training is a two-year apprenticeship with an established questioned documents laboratory where the examiner trainee studies the basic literature, completes research projects and practical exercises and becomes familiar with the role of forensic sciences in general and forensic document examination in particular, as they relate to the legal system.

It should be understood that forensic document examination is a valid and legitimate field of study as a discipline in forensic examinations and identification. It is not to be confused with “graphology” which claims the ability to assess personality traits of a person from their handwriting.