COLEGIO DE SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA

Supervised by the Lasallian Schools Supervision Office

Ramon M. Durano Foundation Compound
Guinsay, Danao City
Tel. No. (032) 3444709

COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY
First Semester
SY: 2022-2023

FORENSIC 4: QUESTIONED
DOCUMENT
EXAMINATION
MODULE 1

(PRELIM PERIOD)

COMPILED BY:

MS. EUCIL P. LUARDO

Name: ___________________________________________________________

Year & Section: ___________________________________________________

References:

Books
Handbook in Questioned Documents Examination with Laboratory Manual
(Joenard Contreras Duno and Violeta Cabarles Efondo)

Online Sources
Retrieved Fromhttps://www.scribd.com/document/271628409/NOTES-ON-QUESTIONED-
DOCUMENTS-WITH-EXERCISES-2-doc
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LESSON 1: Kinds and Classification of Documents

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: at the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

1. define document;

2. identify the different kinds of documents;

3. distinguish standard document from the questioned document; and

4. explain the nature and work of a forensic document examiner.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

What is a document?

 Document refers to any material which contains marks, symbols, or signs either visible or
partially visible, which furnishes information or ultimately conveys meaning to another
person. Document is in the form of a pencil, ink writing or printing on paper.
 In the case of People vs. Moreno, CA, 338 O.G. 119, a document is any written
document by which a right is established or an obligation is extinguished.
 In the case of People vs. Nillosquin, CA, 48 O.G. 4453, a document is every deed or
instrument executed by the person by which some disposition or agreement is proved,
evidenced, or set forth.

Kinds of Documents

1. Paper-based Documents – these are documents that are paper-based printed

2. Electronic – based Documents – these are digitally signed documents and any printed-out or
output readable by sight or other means which accurately reflect the electronic data message or
electronic document.

Four types of Documents

1. Public Documents – any instrument notarized by a notary public or competent official with
solemnities required by law.
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2. Official Document – any instrument issued by the government or its agents or its officers
having the authority to do so and the offices, which in accordance with their creation, they are
authorized to issue and be issued in the performance of their duties.

3. Private Document – every deed or instrument executed by a private person without the
intervention of a notary public or of any person legally authorized, by which documents, some
disposition, or agreement is proved, evidenced or set forth.

4. Commercial document – any instrument executed in accordance with the code of commerce
or any mercantile law. Containing disposition of commercial rights or obligations.

Note:

A private document may become a public or official document when it partakes in the
nature of a public or official record. So, if the falsification is committed on such document, that
is, when it is already a part of the public record, falsification of a public or official document is
committed. However, if such private documents are intended to become a part of the public
record, even though falsified prior thereto, falsification of a public document is committed.

Standard Document:

 Are condensed and compact set of authentic specimens, which is adequate and proper,
and should contain a true correction of the material form a known source. They are used
by the Document Examiner as the basis for his identification or non-identification of the
questioned documents as, for example, for the known handwriting which serves to
establish who wrote the disputed letter.

Two Kind of Standard Documents

1. Procured or Collected – those which are obtain from files of document executed in the
persons day to day business, official, social or personal activities.

2. Requested – those which are given or made upon the request of an investigator for purpose of
making comparative examination with the request writing.

Writings which do not constitute documents

1. A draft of a municipal payroll which is not yet approved by the proper authority

2. Mere blank forms of official documents, the spaces of which are not yet fille up

3. Pamphlets or books which do not evidence any disposition or agreement are not documents
but are mere merchandise.

What is a questioned document?

 One in which the facts appearing therein are not true and are contested either in whole or
in part with respect to its authenticity, identity, or origin.
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 Document is questioned because its origins, its contents, or the circumstances and story
regarding its production arouse suspicion as to its genuineness or it may be adversely
scrutinized simply because it displeases someone.

Classes of Questioned Documents

1. Documents with questioned signatures

2. Documents containing alleged fraudulent alterations

3. Questioned or disputed holographic wills.

4. Documents investigated the question of typewriting

5. Documents on issues of their age or date

6. Documents on issues of material used in their production.

7. Documents or writings investigated because it is alleged that they identify some persons
through handwriting.

8. Genuine documents erroneously or fraudulently altered or disputed.

Subjects Considered in Questioned Document Exam

1. Handwriting Examination

2. Typewriting Examination

3. Examination of Inks

4. Erasures, alterations, obliterations, etc.

5. Counterfeiting

Two Broad Classes of Questioned Document Examination

1. Criminalistic Examination – its purpose is for the detection of forgeries, alterations, and
obliteration. The criminalistic examination of questioned documents is similar to other kinds of
laboratory work.

2. Handwriting Identification – its goal is to find out who is the author of the writing.
Handwriting identification is a more difficult procedure and requires a long study and
experience.

The Role and Nature of Questioned Document in Police work

 The document examiner has a dual objective. First to discover the facts and second, to
prove the facts. The document examiner who would truly serve the ends of justice must
go to the witness stand fully prepared to support this conclusion with testimony that is
factual, clearly understandable, and persuasive. Expert testimony should be measured by
its convincingness.
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The Examiner as a part of the Investigative Team in Crime Detection and Investigation

 The field of questioned examination is one of the three “I’s” of the investigation of crime
i.e. “Instrumentation”. Documents as evidence in various cases specifically forgeries and
the like are submitted to the laboratory for the appropriate examination.
 Document examiner who scientifically studies the elements, nature and composition of
documents regards this field of expertise as one of the processes of discovering and
proving facts for promoting justice law enforcement.

Document Examination

Objectives:

a. The objective is to furnish the investigator in the field with sufficient background information
concerning document examination.

b. No attempt is made to provide detailed information sufficient to qualify the investigator as an

expert document examiner.

Importance/Significance:

a. In the commission of the crime, the criminal often finds it necessary to employ one or more
documents in furtherance of his act.

b. In some crimes, such as forgery, the document is an integral part of the crime.

c. In others, such as false claims against the government, documents often play an important part
in proving the commission of the crime.

d. proof of the fact that a document was altered or made by a particular individual may show
that:

 He committed the crime

 He had knowledge of the crime
 He was present in a certain locality at a specified time

General Principles in Questioned Document Examination

The following principles in QDE must be noted, that

1. Documents are questioned, disputed, and attacked on many grounds and for various reasons.

2. Documents should be preserved, handled and cared of, in a manner that will not impair the
slightest degree of its value as evidence

3. Documents must be protected

4. QDE observes phases of specific approaches

Documents are Questioned, Disputed and Attacked

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The great majority of questioned papers are included in the following manner:

1. Documents with questioned signatures – these are the most common disputed documents.
They may be commercial or legal paper such as check, note, receipt contracts, agreement, wills,
deed, and signature which is under suspicion.

2. Documents containing alleged fraudulent alterations – included here are all documents in
which it is alleged that some alteration was made by erasure, addition, interlineations, or
substitution. Questions may arise as to the order or sequence of writing as shown by crossed
lines, age, and continuity of writing, erasures and changes, the identity of ink, the identity of pen
and condition, fraudulent interlineations in contracts, deeds, wills, and other legal papers.

3. Holograph Documents questioned or disputed – here, the writing of an entire written

document is all questioned.

4. Documents attacked the question of materials used in their production – some documents
may be shown to be false because they were dated many years before was made on which they
were written.

5. Documents attacked the question on the question of their age or date – included are the
documents in which the age of an instrument or the age of some part of it is investigated or a
document in which the comparative age of different parts may have bearing on the question of its
genuineness.

6. Documents investigated on the question of type writings/computer prints - the question

that may be raised in the documents may either be the use of the same machine at different times
on the different machine

7. Documents or writings investigated because it is alleged that they identify some person
through handwriting – this class includes all documents papers, writings, or instruments, which
by their handwriting and contents tend to identify some person. The most common documents of
this class are all kinds of anonymous and disputed letters.

8. Genuine documents erroneously or fraudulently attacked - Sometimes genuine signatures

may be alleged by the writer as it is not his own.

General Principles in the Care, Handling, and Preservation of QD.

From the moment that the genuineness of the documents is questioned, they should be
handled and cared for, in a manner that will not impair in the slightest degree its evidentiary
rule. The exact physical condition of every part of a suspected document should be carefully
observed in detail and made a matter of definitely written record and thereafter the documents
should be preserved as far as possible in exactly the same condition as it was first suspected.

The following necessary negative direction must be observed:

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1. A disputed document should not be cut, torn or in any manner mutilated in the slightest
degree.

2. It should not be touched with an eraser of any kind, nor the pen, pencil, or sharp instrument of
any character.

3. It should not be folded in any manner

4. It should not be folded and unfolded

5. It should not be wet, and except by special permission, no chemicals should be applied to
papers of the opposing party in any manner that will injure or deface them.

6. Sharp pointed dividers or measuring instruments should not be put upon a questioned writing
except with the greatest care and only by the skilled in the used of these instruments.

7. Those examining it should not be allowed to point closely at letters or any parts of it, with a
pencil

8. A direct tracing should not be made by anyone at any time

9. It should not be underscored with a pencil.

Protecting the Documents

Documents submitted for examination must be given due protection in order to preserve
its original condition. It shall never be regarded as an ordinary piece of paper and shall not be
threatened to any damage or contamination. To give the document protection, the following shall
be observed.

1. A folded document of any kind that is being investigated should be unfolded and kept in a
celluloid cover.

2. Place it between sheets of thin, transparent celluloid.

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LESSON 2: Materials Used in Making Document

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: at the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

1. recognize the materials needed to be used in making a document;

2. identify the materials needed to be used in making a document; and

3. explain the use of the materials in making a document.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

Materials Needed in making a document

1. Paper

2. Ink

3. Writing Instruments

A. Paper

 Is a sheet of interlaced fibers usually cellulose fibers from plants, but sometimes from
cloth rags or other fibrous materials that is formed by pulping the fibers and causing them
to felt, or mat to form a solid surface.

Kinds of Paper

a. Papyrus

 A writing material made by pasting together thin slabs of the reed plant that grew in the
Nile Valley of Egypt.
 From about 2400 BCE or earlier, the people of Egypt, Palestine, Syria and southern used
the pith of the sedge “Cyperus papyrus” to make a writing material known as papyrus.

Steps in Making Papyrus

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1. Harvesting and Preparation

 First off, you need to get yourself genuine papyrus plant. Before you harvest the stalks, it
is recommended of giving plant a nice soak of about 60 minutes prior. This will make
sure that the stalks are firm and won’t crumple. Try to cut as close to the base as possible.
Cut off the tops.

2. Making the strips

 Make sure that the hand planer has a very sharp blade. The sharper the blade, the easier
the cutting. Place the planner upside down and secure it in a bench vice. Place the blade
of the planer to about 2mm. You don’t have to be exact, so long as you get a strip of
papyrus that will not break due to being too thin.

3. Soaking the trips.

 Once your strips are de-barked, soak them in a tub/bucket of water for 3 days. This step is
essential because it activates the natural glue in the plant which makes this paper
possible.

4. Laying out the strips

 After 3 days of soaking, the natural glue in the papyrus is ready. Lay out some paper
towels and put some of the papyrus strips on them. Place another layer of paper towels on
top of this and use the rolling pin to squeeze out the water. Repeat this for all the strips.
Papyrus has a distinct look because of its layout pattern. There is no need to weave the
strips together because of the natural glue. For the bottom, place the strips all going in
one direction while overlapping about 1/3 of the strip. Repeat the process for the top layer
but facing perpendicular to the bottom of the layer. Overlapping the strips is important
because the strips shrink as they dry. Do not overlap enough, and so the paper has some
small square gaps.

5. Compress and Dry

 Take two wooden boards that are roughly as big or bigger than the papyrus sheet. On
each board, put an old dish cloth followed by some paper towels. Place a papyrus in
between both sheets to make a nice papyrus sandwich. Using clamps, or a giant vice if
you have one, clamp it down tight. The drying process now will take about a week. You
should replace the paper towels every day.

6. Removal

 After a week of compressing and drying of papyrus remove the clamp, wooden boards,
old dish cloth and paper towels.

7. Smoothing

 When the papyrus is finished drying, you’ll notice that it isn’t very smooth. So, in
keeping with old school tradition uses a smooth rock to polish the paper. To do this, take
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the rock and rub it against the paper along the grain. Do this until you think it is smooth
enough to write on. Now you can write on your newly made papyrus paper. It is
recommended using some sort of dip ink pen. The gel pens are probably the most
“modern” you can cause without tearing up the paper.

b. Parchment

 A writing instrument made from the skins primarily of sheep, calves, or goats.

Steps in Making Parchment

1. The first step in making a medieval book is gathering the pages to write up. These were
usually from parchment, and later paper. The parchment is made from the skins of goats, sheep,
and calves. Shows is a pool of a dozen and a half goat and sheep skins soaking after being
flayed. Then remove the dirt, feces, and blood from the pelts before processing them.

2 Scraped the raw flesh from the inside of skin. The next stage will be to soak it in a lime-water
solution for over a week, then scrape off the hair and then soak it a second time in lime water
solution.

3. After soaking, the skin is stretched on a frame and scraped very smooth with a crescent-shaped
knife called a lunelarum. The next step involves drying, sanding with a block of pumice, and
then smoothing the skin until it is perfect.

Types of paper

1. Newsprint

 Used for newspapers; made thinly and lightly of ground woof pulp. Newsprint are not
necessarily durable because they are designed to last only for a day.

2. Groundwood Paper

 Also made of ground wood pulp; used for catalogs, dictionaries and similar publications

3. Coarse Paper

 Heavy duty papers; used for grocery bags, wrapping papers, paper sacks, etc.

4. Absorbent Paper

 Made in such a way that they can absorb a certain amount of liquid falling apart; used
chiefly for filter papers, paper towels, and bathroom papers.

5. Paperboards

 The heaviest and most durable type of paper; commonly used for boxes and cartons.

6. Shell Paper
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 A kind of paper made of ground eggshells; it is sometimes referred to as Oslo Paper

Note: The origin, identity, or differences in a paper may be shown by its color, thickness, finish
or surface, watermark, wire mark, cutting, size, ruling, padded or lose sheets, composition or
characters of fibers used in its manufacture, colored, gilded, or silvered edges and books
binder’s stitches.

B. Ink

Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments or dyes and is used to color a surface to
produce an image, text or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, or quill.

Types of Ink

1. Pigment Ink

 It is essentially a waterproof ink that makes it stick permanently to appear and run very
little. Sometimes used by amateur tattoo artists, India ink is a popular type of pigment ink
and one of the oldest kinds of ink the world.

2. Dye Ink

 It is another type of ink that is usually used in fountain pens and gel ink pens. Dye ink is
generally cheaper.

3. Carbon Inks

 these were commonly made from lampback or soot and a binding agent such as gum
Arabic or animal glue

4. Iron Gall Ink

 it became prominent in the early 12th century; they were used for centuries and were
widely thought to be the best type of ink.

5. Indelible Ink

 also known as irremovable. Some types of indelible ink have a very short shelf life
because of the quickly evaporating solvents used.

6. Invisible Ink

 also known as security ink is a substance used for writing, which is invisible either on
application or soon thereafter, and can be later be made visible by some means.

What can be determined from Ink Examination?

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 Determine if two inks are similar or different

 Determine the age of ink deposited on the paper.

C. Writing Instruments

 A pen is derived from the Latin word “penna” means feather. It is a writing implement
used to apply ink to a surface as paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pen,
quill pen, and dip pen were used, with a nib dipped ink.

Types of Pens

Modern

1. Ballpoint Pen

 Also known as a “biro” or ball pen, is a pen that dispenses ink over a metal ball at its
point. The metal commonly used is steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. It was conceived and
developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens and fountain pens, and it
is now the world’s most used writing instrument.
 The first patent for a ballpoint pen was issued on October 30, 1888 to John J. Loud.

2. Roller Ball Pen

 It dispenses a water-based liquid or gel ink through a ball tip similar to that of a ballpoint
pen.

3. Fountain Pen

 It uses water-based liquid ink delivered through a nib. The ink flows from a reservoir
through a feed to the nib, then through the nib, due to capillary action and gravity. The
nib has no moving parts and delivers ink through a thin slit to the writing surface. A
fountain pen reservoir can be refillable or disposable; the disposal type is called an ink
cartridge.

4. Felt – tip Pen

 It has a porous tip fibrous material.

 The smallest, finest – tipped felt – tip pens are used for writing paper.

Historic

1. Dip Pen

 It is also known as nib pen. It consists of a metal nib with capillary channels, like that of
a fountain pen, mounted on a handle or holder, often made of wood.
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 A dip pen usually has no ink reservoir and must be repeatedly recharged with ink while
drawing or writing.

2. Ink Brush

 It is the traditional writing implemented in East Asian calligraphy. The body of the brush
can be made from either bamboo or rarer materials such as red sandalwood, glass, ivory,
silver, and gold.
 There is a tradition in both Japan and China of making a brush using the hair of a
newborn, as a once a traditional in a lifetime souvenir for the child.

3. Quill Pen

 It is a pen made from a flight feather of a large bird, most often a goose. Quills were used
as instruments for writing with ink before the metal dip pen, the fountain pen and
eventually the ball point came into use.
 Quill pens were used in medieval times to write on parchment or paper.

4. Reed Pen

 It is a cut from a reed or bamboo, with a slit in a narrow tip. Its mechanism is essentially
similar to that of a quill.
 The reed pen has almost disappeared but it is still used by young school students in some
parts of India and Pakistan.
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