INTRODUCTION

TO
QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS

DARWIN P. BATAWANG, PH.D. CRIM

 Recall last topic
➢ QDE In The Philippines
➢ Basic Requirement In QDE (PNP-CLO SOP)
➢ The Forensic Document Examiner
➢ Roles of QD Examiner
Preliminary Examination Of Documents
➢ What Is An Off-hand Opinion?
➢ Care, Handling And Preservation Of Documents
➢ Division Of Questioned Document Examination
➢ Related Fields of Study
 Todays Discussion

➢ Terminologies Related to QD
 Terms to Know

Doubtful

Dubious Disagreement

Unlikely QUESTIONED Scrutiny

Unacceptable Uncertain

QUESTIONED
Any material which
DOCUMENT
some issue has been raised or which is
under
➢ One
scrutiny.
in which the facts appearing therein may not be
true, and are contested either in whole or part with
the respect to its authenticity, identity, or origin.
 Terms to Know

Arguable

invalid Untrue

Scrutinized DISPUTED Doubtful

Controversy Questionable
A term suggesting that there is an argument or
controversy over the document.
 Terms to Know

Exemplar

Known Basis

Model STANDARD For Comparison

They are used by the document examiner as the basis for

his identification or non- identification of the questioned
document, as for example the known hand writing which
serves to establish who wrote the disputed letter.
 Terms to Know

Holographic Document
➢ Any document completely written and signed by
one person; also known as holograph.

Reference Collection
➢ Material compiled and organized by the document
examiner to assist him in answering special
questions.
 DOCUMENT AND
QUESTIONED DOCUMENT
EXAMINATION
 Terms to Know

ADDITION – any matter made a part of the

document after its original preparation may
be referred to as addition.
 Terms to Know

CONCLUSION – A scientific conclusion results from

relating observed facts by logical, common-sense
reasoning in accordance with established rules of
laws. The document examiner’s conclusion, in legal
term is referred to as opinion.
 Terms to Know

DOCUMENT EXAMINER – One who studies

scientifically the details and elements of documents in
order to identify their source or to discover other facts
concerning them. Document examiners are often
referred to as handwriting identification experts, but
today the work has outgrown this latter title and
involves other problems than merely the examination
of handwriting.
 Terms to Know

ERASURE – The removal of writings, typewriting

or printing, from a document is an erasure. It may
be accomplished by either of two means. A
chemical eradication in which the writing is
removed or bleached by chemical agents; and an
abrasive erasure is where the writing is effaced by
rubbing with a rubber eraser or scratching out with
a knife or other sharp with implement.
 Terms to Know

EXAMINATION – It is the act of making a close and

critical study of any material and with questioned
documents, it is the process necessary to discover
the facts about them. Various types are undertaken,
including microscopic, visual photographic, chemical,
ultra violet and infra-red examination.
 Terms to Know

EXPERT WITNESS – A legal term used to describe a

witness who by reason of his special training or
experience is permitted to express an opinion regarding
the issue, or a certain aspect of the issue, which is
involved in a court action. The purpose is to interpret
technical information in his particular specialty in order
to assist the court in administering justice. The
document examiner testifies in court as an expert
witness.
 Terms to Know

HANDWRITING IDENTIFICATION EXPERT – a

common name for the document examiner.

IDENTIFICATION – as used in this text it is the state

of being identical or absolutely the same as in
similarity of source or authorship of the questioned
document and the standard document.
 Terms to Know

INSERTION OR INTERLINEATION – The term

insertion and interlineations include the addition of
writing and other material between lines or
paragraphs or the addition of whole page to a
document.
 Terms to Know

NON-IDENTIFICATION – As used in this text it

means the source or authorship of the compared
questioned and standard specimens is different.

OBLITERATION – the blotting out or shearing over

the writing to make the original invisible to as an
addition.
 Terms to Know

OPINION – In legal language, it refers to the

document examiner’s conclusion. Actually in Court,
he not only expresses an opinion but demonstrates
the reasons for arriving at his opinion. Throughout
this text, opinion and conclusion are used
synonymously.
 Terms to Know

QUALIFICATION – The professional experience,

education, and ability of a document examiner.
Before he is permitted to testify as an expert
witness, the court must rule that he is qualified in
his field.
 HANDWRITING- It is the result of a
very complicated series of acts being
used as a whole, combination of certain
forms of visible mental and muscular
habits acquired by long, continued
painstaking effort.
 NATURAL HANDWRITING- any writing
executed normally without any attempt
to control or alter its identifying habits
and its usual quality of execution.
 DISGUISED WRITING- a writer may
deliberately try to alter his usual writing
habits in hope of hiding his identity
(identity concealment), writing skill is
poorer, change in slant, size, altered of
capital letters.
 Wrong-Handed Writing - any writing executed
with the opposite hand that normally used; aka…as
“with the awkward hand” it is one means of
disguised thus, the writing of a right-handed
person, which has been executed with his left hand,
accounts for the common terminology for his class
of disguised as left-hand writing.
 Form - the writer’s chosen writing
style. The way the writing looks
whether it is a copybook, elaborated
simplified or printed.
 Writing Impulse - the result of pen
touching down on the paper and
moving across the page, until it is
raised from the paper.
 Shading - is the widening of the ink
strokes due to the added pressure of a
flexible pen point or to use of stab pen.
 Quality - a distinct or peculiar
character. Also; quality is used in
describing handwriting to refer to any
identifying factor that is related to the
writing movement itself.
 STROKE- series of lines of curves
written in a single letter.
- One of the lines of an alphabet or
series of lines or curves within a
single letter.
- The path traced by the pen on the
paper.
 STROKE STRUCTURE- is series of
lines or curves within the letters of the
alphabet.
THANK YOU!