DOCUMENT

ANALYSIS
FORENSIC SCIENCE
GRIFFIN

UNIT OBJECTIVES
Students will understand:
An expert document analyst can individualize
handwriting to a particular person
What types of evidence are submitted to the document
analyst
Three types of forgery
How to characterize:
Inks
Papers
Handwriting

VOCABULARY
Exemplar
Diacritics
Forgery (Blind, Simulated, Traced)
Backhand writing
Obliteration
Indented writing
Watermark
Sizing

DOCUMENTS AS EVIDENCE
Document analysis
covers:
Verifying handwriting
and signatures
Authenticating
documents
Characterizing
papers, pigments,
and inks
Restoring erased and
obliterated writing

HOW ARE DOCUMENTS EVIDENCE?

Ransom notes used in
kidnapping cases
Forged signatures on
checks (or syllabi )
Suicide vs. Homicide
Contested wills
Medical malpractice
Art forgeries
Fraudulent documents
(contracts and money)

EXAMINATION TOOLS
Microscopes
Infrared and ultraviolet
(UV) light sources
Imaging equipment
Liquid chromatography
Database comparison

QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS
A questioned
document is any
object with
handwriting or print
whose source or
authenticity is in
doubt.
In order to determine
whether a signature
or writing is
authentic, document

HANDWRITING ANALYSIS
When analyzing documents, forensic document
examiners deal with questions of authenticity
and authorship.
When looking at handwriting, examiners focus
on three principles:
Given a sufficient amount of handwriting, no two
skilled writers exhibit identical handwriting features
Every person has a range of natural variation to his
or her writing
No writer can exceed his or her writing skill level

12 CHARACTERISTICS
1. Line quality
2. Spacing of words and letters
3. Ratio of relative height, width, and size of the letters
4. Pen lifts and separations
5. Connecting strokes
6. Beginning and ending strokes
7. Unusual letter formation
8. Shading or pen pressure

FORGERY
Forgery: An item prepared with the intent to deceive or defraud.
This includes autographs, books, paintings, stamps, antiques, etc.
The most common type of forgery is a signature.
There are three types of forgery:
Blind forgery
Simulated forgery
Traced forgery

Line quality
Purposely distorted

Spacing (excessive)
Low-skilled writer
Four signatures from
same person
demonstrating variation

High-skilled writer

PAPER
Paper can be made from
many different materials
such as: papyrus
parchment, and ecofriendly hemp.
Todays paper is most
commonly made from
wood pulp.

PAPER (CONT)
Some paper will be
treated with
chemicals:
Sulfate shopping bags
Sodium sulfite
stationary

Some paper will have

additives, such as
cotton fibers.
Watermarks can tell
when a piece of paper

PAPER ANALYSIS
Forensic Analysts will look
for:
Raw materials
Color
Density
Watermarks
Dyes or bleaching
Fluorescence under UV
(ultraviolet) light
Thickness as determined
by a micrometer

CASE STUDIES
Hitler Diaries
Ossian Manuscript
Howard Hughes Forgery
Lord Byron Forgeries
Texas Declaration of Independence
Vinland Map
Thomas Chatterton
George Psalmanasar
John Payne Collier
Alexander Howland Smith
Thomas James Wise
Lindbergh Kidnapping
Weinberger Kidnapping
Anthrax letters
Washington Sniper Letters
JonBenet Ramsey Letter