Documents

1. Documents

2. Documents • A document is defined as anything on which a mark is made • for the purpose of transmitting a message. • A questioned document is one where it’s origin is unknown. • Ex: A ransom note, a fake check • A standard/exemplar is a document of known origin. • Ex: Writing sample done at the precinct • A standard/exemplar is used for comparison • Forgery is the act of falsifying documents.

3. Documents • A standard/exemplar vs. questioned document. 1956 Weinberger Kidnapping: “your baby sitter” • An FBI-conducted analysis made a • match between the top two sign-offs • ("Your baby sitter"), pulled from the • ransom notes, and the bottom two, • from the prime suspect . • Which are the exemplar and which • are the questioned documents?

4. Documents Documents as Evidence • Because no two people have the same handwriting it • is individual evidence. • However, a person’s physical and emotional well-being • can alter an individual’s writing.

5. Documents Handwriting Development • When children first learn to write, their handwriting is similar, • with differences based on skill. • As an individual matures, their handwriting becomes • subconscious and habitual shapes and patterns distinguish • it from others. • Basic patterns are set for most people by young adulthood.

6. Documents Handwriting Analysis • Handwriting experts may be able to make a positive identification • if there are enough samples for examination and enough exemplars • against which to compare those samples. • To determine if a signature or writing is authentic, a document • examiner will generally examine 12 characteristics.

7. Documents Handwriting Analysis • Line quality: Are the line smooth, free flowing, and rhythmic or • or shaky, nervous, and wavering? • Spacing of words and letters: Is the spacing between the words • letters consistent between exemplar and known document? 3. Ratio of relative height, width, and size of letters: Are they consistent between exemplar and known document? 4. Pen lifts and separations: Check to see how writer stops to form new letters. Forgers may have pen lifts or separations in unusual places.

8. Documents Handwriting Analysis • Connecting strokes: Compare how capital letters are connected • lower case letters and how strokes connect between letters and • words. • Beginning and ending strokes: Compare how a writer begins • and ends a word. Are they straight, curved, upstroke, down stroke? 7. Unusual letter formations: Does the letter have a tail or any unusual capitals? • Pen pressure: Individuals use different amounts of pressure • when writing.

9. Documents Handwriting Analysis • Slant: Does the writing slant to the left or right, or is it straight • up and down? 10. Baseline habits: Does the writing tend to move upward, downward, or continue on a straight line? 11. Embellishments: Are there many fancy letters, curls, loops, circles, etc. 12. Placement of diacriticals: Check the crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s and j’s.

10. Documents Handwriting Analysis “Graphology” Graphology is the study and analysis of handwriting especially in relation to human psychology. It is NOT based on science and it CANNOT be used in court Graphology is based upon the following basic assertions:

11. Documents • When we write, the ego is active but it is not always active to • the same degree. Thus influencing our handwriting. 2. Written strokes reflect both transitory and long term changes in the central nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease, drug or alcohol usage. • The movements and corresponding levels of muscular tension • in writing are mostly outside of conscious control. Emotion, • mental state, and biomechanical factors such as muscle stiffness • and elasticity are reflected in a person's handwriting.

12. Documents 4. One must examine the handwriting or drawing movements by considering them as movements organized by the central nervous system and produced under biomechanical and dynamical constraints. Given these considerations, graphologists proceed to evaluate the pattern, form, movement, rhythm, quality, and consistency of the graphic stroke in terms of psychological interpretations. Such interpretations vary according to the graphological theory applied by the analyst. A person attempting to change their handwriting will tend to write faster or slower than usual

13. Documents Validity to “Graphology” • Recent studies testing the validity of using handwriting for predicting personality traits have been consistently negative.

14. Documents JonBenet Ramsey Case • According to the testimony of Patsy Ramsey, on December • 26, 1996, she discovered her daughter missing after finding a • two and half-page ransom note on the kitchen staircase, • demanding $118,000 for the safe return of her daughter, • which was the exact value of a bonus her husband received • earlier that year.

15. Documents Ransom Note

16. Documents Handwriting Slant Analysis

17. Documents Result of Handwriting Analysis: In handwriting analysis, it is not the similarity of the letters by themselves that is important, it is the TOTALITY of the similar letters in addition to other factors. Anyone can have a few similar traits in their handwriting, but it is not the traits alone that define authorship. The analysis must be taken as a whole, and other components such as spacing, rhythm, pressure, margins, primary zones and connecting strokes are all part of the comparison. Patsy Ramsey has ALL of the above-mentioned traits in common with the Ransom Note writer. Patsy Ramsey was present in the house and had means, motive and opportunity to write the Ransom Note. The odds of someone else with the exact same handwriting traits coming in and killing her daughter, leaving a three page ransom note and staging a crime scene are absolutely astronomical.In addition, it would be impossible to successfully forge a three-page ransom note in Patsy’s unique handwriting. That type of forgery has been tried in various experiments, and has failed.Together, the handwriting analysis and linguistic analysis give one result.Patsy Ramsey is the author of the Ransom Note.

18. Documents Ink • Ink can be studied with Chromatography. • Chromatography is a simple procedure • where a solvent is used to separate ink • into basic components. • It is then possible to compare a note • with a certain pen. • Manufacturers are “tagging” inks and • changing it every year to make dating • questioned documents easier.

19. Documents Spectral Comparator • An indispensable tool for a document analyst • It uses different light sources to see what the eye cannot. UV Light (paper) UV Light (watermark) UV Light (ink)