LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION

BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Nature and Concepts of Questioned Documents Examination

The field of questioned document examination is one of the branches of Instrumentation in

Investigation. Document is one form of evidence that is usually involved in almost all cases. As
evidence such requires a critical analysis by competent personnel of the police service, thus the
document is usually referred to the Laboratory for it to be subjected to the appropriate
examination. “Physical evidence do not lie, only that man somehow fails to interpret what the
evidence is trying to tell us” (Osborn), this is actually the field of expertise that a document
examiner and investigator should look upon with regard to analysis and investigation of physical
evidence. One of the necessary things to do is to know the facts and later prove the same so as to
promote justice.

Documents – Is any material which contains marks symbols or signs, visible, partially visible or
invisible, that may presently or ultimately convey a meaning or message to someone.

Questioned Document – any document about which some issue has been raised or which is
under scrutiny.

Disputed Document – any document that has argument or controversy.

B. The Document Examiner, Handwriting Expert and Grapho-analyst

1. Document Examiner – studies scientifically the details and elements of documents in

order to identify their source or discover other facts concerning them. Document
examiners are often referred to as handwriting experts, but today the work has outgrown
this latter and involves other than just examination of handwriting. Aspects of document
evidence may include handwriting, hand printing, typewriting, typewriter ribbons,
printers, photocopiers, facsimiles, check writer impressions, indented writing,
watermarks, inks, erasures, alterations, obliterations, torn edges, safety paper, charred
paper, graphic arts, and matches.

2. Grapho-analyst – examine handwriting and interpret the character or personality of the

writer by the traits left behind in the written line. They do not, by definition, compare
handwriting to determine authorship or genuineness of the document. Graphologists
consider themselves capable of making statements about honesty, physical attributes and
infirmities, or injuries of the writer. Some claim that subsequent change of one’s
handwriting could control alcoholism, reduce depression and loneliness, turn failure into
success, and cause man other miracles.

C. Locard Exchange Principle and Forensic Document Examination

In Forensic science, Locard's Exchange Principle (sometimes simply Locard's

principle) holds that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something into the crime scene and
leave with something from it, and that both can be used as forensic evidence. Dr. Edmond Locard
(13 December 1877 – 4 May 1966) was a pioneer in forensic science who became known as the
Sherlock Holmes of France. He formulated the basic principle of forensic science as: "Every
contact leaves a trace".

D. Evolution of Documents (Paper, Ink, Writing Instrument, and Process)

1. Paper - the word "paper" is etymologically derived from papyrus, Ancient Greek for the
Cyperus papyrus plant which was used in ancient Egypt and other Mediterranean cultures for
writing long before the making of paper in China. Papyrus however are plants pressed and
dried, while paper is made from fibers whose properties have been changed by maceration or
disintegration. In the pre-Columbian Americas, a type of early bark paper known as amate

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

was used as a folded writing material for codices. Paper is a writing material that was first
invented in ancient China.

 2nd Century BC - The first use of paper in China dating to the reign of Emperor Wu of
Han were for purposes of wrapping or padding protection for delicate bronze mirrors and
for safety, such as the padding of poisonous medicine. Moreover, paper was in use by the
ancient Chinese military.
 Tang dynasty (618–907) - paper was folded and sewn into square bags to preserve the
flavor of tea.
 Song dynasty (960–1279) - not only did the government produce the world's first known
paper-printed money, or banknote, but paper money bestowed as gifts to deserving
government officials were wrapped in special paper envelopes.
 Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) - the Venetian merchant Marco Polo remarked how the
Chinese burned paper effigies shaped as male and female servants, camels, horses, suits
of clothing and armor while cremating the dead during funerary rites.
 25-220 AD - the first papermaking process was documented in China during the Eastern
Han period, traditionally attributed to the court official Cai Lun.
 8th Century - Chinese papermaking spread to the Islamic world.
 11th Century - papermaking was brought to medieval Europe, where it was refined with
the earliest known paper mills utilizing water wheels.
 19th Century - Western improvements to the papermaking process came with the
invention of wood-based papers.

2. 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.

 23rd Century BC - Chinese inks can be traced back with the utilization of natural plant
(plant dyes), animal, and mineral inks based on such materials as graphite that were
ground with water and applied with ink brushes.
 256 BC - Chinese inks, similar to modern inksticks were produced from soot and animal
glue. The best inks for drawing or painting on paper or silk are produced from the resin
of the pine tree.
 Neolithic China (middle of the 3rd millennium BC) - the process of making India ink
was known in China. India ink was first invented in China, although the source of
materials to make the carbon pigment in India ink was later often traded from India, thus
the term India ink was coined. The traditional Chinese method of making the ink was to
grind a mixture of hide glue, carbon black, lampblack, and bone black pigment with a
pestle and mortar, then pouring it into a ceramic dish where it could dry. To use the dry
mixture, a wet brush would be applied until it reliquified. The manufacture of India ink
was well-established by the Cao Wei Dynasty (220–265 AD).
Ink formulas vary, but commonly involve two components:
1. Colorants; and
2. Vehicles (binders)

Inks generally fall into four classes:

1. Aqueous;
2. Liquid;
3. Paste; and
4. Powder.

3. Writing Instruments (Pens) - is a writing implement used to apply ink to a surface, such as
paper, for writing or drawing. (Latin: penna, feather).

 3000 BC - Ancient Egyptians had developed writing on papyrus scrolls when scribes
used thin reed brushes or reed pens from the Juncus maritimus or sea rush. The reed pen
survived until papyrus was replaced by animal skins, vellum and parchment, as a writing
surface.

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

 100 BC - the quill pen was used in Qumran, Judea to write some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The scrolls were written in Hebrew dialects with bird feathers or quills.
 79 BC - A copper nib was found in the ruins of Pompeii showing that metal nibs were
used.
 10th Century BC - The earliest historical record of a pen employing a reservoir. A later
reservoir pen was developed in 1636.
 1827 - while a student in Paris, Romanian Petrache Poenaru invented the fountain pen,
which the French Government patented in May 1827. Fountain pen patents and
production then increased in the 1850s.
 1888 - The first patent on a ballpoint pen was issued on October 30, 1888, to John J
Loud.
 1906 & 1907 - Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, became renowned for further development of
the mechanical pencil (1906) – then called an "automatic pencil" – and the first solid-ink
fountain pen (1907).
 1960s - the fiber or felt-tipped pen was invented by Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery
Company, Japan. Marker pens and highlighters, both similar to felt pens have become
popular in recent times.
 Early 1970s - Rollerball pens were introduced. These make use of a mobile ball and
liquid ink to produce a smoother line. A high-quality drafting pen will usually have a
ceramic tip, since this wears well and does not broaden when pressure is applied while
writing.

Modern Types of Pens

The main modern types of pens can be categorized by the kind of writing tip or point on
the pen:

1. Ballpoint pen dispenses ink by rolling a small hard sphere, usually 0.5–1.2 mm and
made of brass, steel or tungsten carbide. The ink dries almost immediately on contact
with paper. The ballpoint pen is usually reliable and comes in both inexpensive and
expensive types. It has replaced the fountain pen as the most common tool for
everyday writing.

2. Rollerball pen dispenses a water-based liquid or gel ink through a ball tip similar to
that of a ballpoint pen. The less-viscous ink is more easily absorbed by paper than
oil-based ink, and the pen moves more easily across a writing surface. The rollerball
pen was initially designed to combine the convenience of a ballpoint pen with the
smooth "wet ink" effect of a fountain pen. Gel inks are available in a range of colors,
including metallic paint colors, glitter effects, neon, blurred effects, saturated colors,
pastel tones, vibrant shades, shady colors, invisible ink, see-through effect, shiny
colors, and glow-in-the-dark effects.

3. Fountain pen 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, this
disposable type being an ink cartridge. A pen with a refillable reservoir may have a
mechanism, such as a piston, to draw ink from a bottle through the nib, or it may
require refilling with an eyedropper. Refill reservoirs, also known as cartridge
converters, are available for some pens which use disposable cartridges.

4. Marker/Felt-tip Pen, has a porous tip of fibrous material. The smallest, finest-tipped
markers are used for writing on paper. Medium-tip markers are often used by
children for coloring and drawing. Larger markers are used for writing on other
surfaces such as corrugated boxes, whiteboards and for chalkboards, often called
"liquid chalk" or "chalkboard markers." Markers with wide tips and bright but
transparent ink, called highlighters, are used to mark existing text. Markers designed

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

for children or for temporary writing (as with a whiteboard or overhead projector)
typically use non-permanent inks. Large markers used to label shipping cases or other
packages are usually permanent markers.

Historic Types of Pens

These historic types of pens are no longer in common use as writing instruments, but may
be used by calligraphers and other artists:

1. Dip Pen or Nib Pen - consists of a metal nib with capillary channels, like that of a
fountain pen, mounted on a handle or holder, often made of wood. A dip pen usually
has no ink reservoir and must be repeatedly recharged with ink while drawing or
writing. The dip pen has certain advantages over a fountain pen. It can use
waterproof pigmented (particle-and-binder-based) inks, such as so-called India ink,
drawing ink, or acrylic inks, which would destroy a fountain pen by clogging, as well
as the traditional iron gall ink, which can cause corrosion in a fountain pen. Dip pens
are now mainly used in illustration, calligraphy, and comics. A particularly fine-
pointed type of dip pen known as a crowquill is a favorite instrument of artists, such
as David Stone Martin and Jay Lynch, because its flexible metal point can create a
variety of delicate lines, textures and tones with slight pressures while drawing.

2. Ink Brush - is the traditional writing implement 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. The head of the brush can be made from
the hair (or feathers) of a wide variety of animals, including the weasel, rabbit, deer,
chicken, duck, goat, pig, tiger, etc. There is also a tradition in both China and Japan
of making a brush using the hair of a newborn, as a once-in-a-lifetime souvenir for
the child. This practice is associated with the legend of an ancient Chinese scholar
who scored first in the Imperial examinations by using such a personalized brush.
Calligraphy brushes are widely considered an extension of the calligrapher's arm.
Today, calligraphy may also be done using a pen, but pen calligraphy does not enjoy
the same prestige as traditional brush calligraphy.

3. Quill Pen - 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 ballpoint pen came into use. Quill pens were used in
medieval times to write on parchment or paper. The quill eventually replaced the reed
pen.

4. Reed Pen - is 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, who learn to
write with them on small timber boards known as "Takhti".

4. Writing Process

 It is generally agreed that true writing of language (not only numbers) was invented
independently in at least two places:
1. Mesopotamia (specifically, Ancient Sumer) around 3200 BC; and
2. Mesoamerica around 600 BC. Several Mesoamerican scripts are known, the
oldest being from the Olmec or Zapotec of Mexico.
 Historians’ explanations on the development of writing process:
1. Writing systems were developed completely independently.
2. Writing appeared in a particular place through a process of cultural diffusion.
 Symbolic Communication Systems distinguished from Writing Systems:

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

1. In Writing System, one must usually understand something of the associated

spoken language to comprehend the text.
2. In Symbolic Systems such as information signs, painting, maps, and mathematics
often do not require prior knowledge of a spoken language.
 Once established, writing systems on the whole change more slowly than their spoken
counterparts, and often preserve features and expressions which are no longer current in
the spoken language.
E. History of Document Examination

1. Under Roman law, the Code of Justinian, enacted in 539 A.D clearly expresses the rule
for the identification and comparison of handwriting: “Comparison of handwriting shall
only be made in the case of public documents, and in case of private instruments where
the adverse part can use them to his own advantage. For we entertain hatred for the crime
of forgery. We order that experts charge with the comparison of the handwriting of public
documents shall be sworn before any private instruments are placed in their hands for this
purpose”.

2. In 1609, the first treatise on systematic document examination was published by Francis
Demelle of France.

3. The great period of illiteracy in English history promoted an atmosphere of mystique

associated with the written word. The English law “comparison of hands” was not only
illegal but was construed as being highly improper. The law positively asserted that
handwriting could not be identified. This attitude could have been influenced by an early
reported case where the comparison of handwriting was admitted into evidence in the
trial of Colonel Algeron Sydney. This writing was read to the jury and compared by
them. Unfortunately for Sydney the jury found him guilty and he was convicted for
treason and executed in 1694. An Act of Parliament five years after Sydney’s execution
made his conviction null and void because the disputed writing had been compared with
some other handwriting which was not proven to have been written by him and that the
mere similitude of handwriting in the two papers shown to the jury without concurrent
testimony was not evidence that both were written by the same person.

4. In 1810, the first recorded use of questioned document analysis occurred in Germany. A
chemical test for a particular ink dye was applied to a document known as Konigin
Hanschritt.

5. By 1854 the slow and staid British system of justice finally started “getting its act
together”. The comparison of handwriting was allowed in civil cases. By 1865 all
restrictions were lifted to allow for the comparison of handwriting in criminal cases.

6. In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus of France was convicted of treason based on mistaken

handwriting identification by Bertillion.

7. In 1910, Albert S. Osborn, an American and arguably the most influential document
examiner, published his book entitled “Questioned Documents”.

F. Personalities in the Development of Document Examination as Profession

1. Albert S. Osborn
 Considered the Father of the Science of Questioned Document Examination in
North America.
 His seminal book Questioned Documents was first published in 1910 and later
heavily revised as a second edition in 1929. Other publications, including The
Problem of Proof (1922), The Mind of the Juror (1937) and Questioned Document
Problems (1944), were widely acclaimed by both the legal profession and by public
and private laboratories concerned with matters involving questioned documents.

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

 Osborn is also known for founding the American Society of Questioned Document
Examiners (ASQDE) on September 2, 1942.
 In 1913 Osborn began inviting select practitioners to informal educational gatherings
hosted in his home and those meetings eventually led to formation of the ASQDE.
 He became the society's first president and was involved intimately with the
discipline and Society until his death four years later.

2. Dr. Wilson Reginald Harrison

 In 1934, Dr. Harrison was appointed part-time scientific consultant to the Cardiff
Police Force and in 1937, after the Home Office Forensic Science Laboratories had
been formalized, became the first Director of the Cardiff Laboratory. His passionate
interest was the study of questioned documents.
 Dr. Harrison became the country's leading expert in the field and his reputation
swiftly spread world-wide.
 In 1958 he published the first edition of his book 'Suspect Documents' which
covered every aspect of the subject, and became the document examiner's bible.
 He followed this in 1964 with a smaller volume 'Forgery Detection', a practical
guide for police officers, lawyers, or anyone who had reason to believe a document
had been forged.
 This also became a classic standard work. He contributed numerous articles to a
number of legal journals.

3. Ordway Hilton
 Was the sixth president of the American Society of Questioned Document
Examiners.
 Born in 1913 and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. He majored in mathematics at
Northwestern University and received a master's degree in statistics from the same
university in 1937. Mr. Hilton was a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic
Document Examiners.
 Was the first questioned document examiner in the then new crime laboratory of the
Chicago Police Department.
 A prolific writer of journal articles and professional papers, Mr. Hilton authored one
of the best-known texts in the field, Scientific Examination of Questioned Documents,
in 1956, and a revised edition of the text in 1982. He also authored Detecting and
Deciphering Erased Pencil Writing.
 He was instrumental in establishing the Questioned Documents Section of the
American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). From 1959 to 1960, Mr. Hilton
served as the tenth president of the AAFS.

G. Various Aspects of Questioned Documents Examination

1. Examination of handwriting
2. Examination of typewriting and type prints
3. Detection of alterations
4. Decipherment of erased writing
5. Restoration of obliterated writing
6. Determination of age of documents
7. Identification of stamps, seal and other authentication devices
8. Currency bills and coins and the like
9. Verification of signatures

H. Classes of Questioned Documents

1. Documents with questioned signatures
2. Documents containing alleged fraudulent alterations
3. Holograph documents- documents which is completely written and signed by one person
4. Documents questioned as to their age or date
5. Documents questioned on the materials used on their production

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

6. Documents involving typewriting, and are investigated or examined for purposes of

determining:
6.1 their source
6.2 their date
6.3 whether or not it contains fraudulent alterations or substituted pages
7. Documents which may identify a person through handwriting
8. Genuine documents erroneously of fraudulently attack or dispute

I. Classes of Disputed Signatures

1. Forged signatures where no attempt has been made to make a copy or facsimile of the
genuine signature of the person to sign the document (simple forgery)
2. Forged signature of a fictitious persons
3. Forged signatures which closely resemble the genuine signatures since they have been
produced by a tracing process (traced forgery)

Different Process of Tracing

1. Carbon Process or “Carbon Outline Method”

A carbon paper is placed between the genuine signatures (top sheet) and the fraudulent
document (below). Outline of model signature is traced with dry pen or pointed
instrument to make a carbon offset to the lower sheet. Outline is finally re-written or
retraced with suitable ink stroke.
2. Indentation Process
An indented or canal-like outline of genuine signature is produced on the fraudulent
document, with suitable pressure or force, the outline of the genuine signature with a
pointed instrument. The outline is then directly inked, in some instances, the outline is
first retraced lightly with pencil before its finally retraced with suitable ink.
3. Projection Process or Transmitted Light Process
Spurious document is placed immediately over the genuine signature, with strong light
directed through the two sheets of paper from below or behind outline which is seen
through upper sheets then traced
4. Forged signatures which resembles the genuine signature, written free-hand (simulated or
copied forgery)
5. Genuine signatures which the written are honestly unwilling to accept as genuine
6. Genuine signatures deliberately written illegibly or in an unusual manner, to afford
signatories some plausible grounds for disclaiming them should they deem it expedient.

J. Care, Preservation and Handling of Documents

1. Do’s and Don’ts in the Care, Handling and Preservation of Documents

Do’s
1. Keep documents unfolded in protective envelopes
2. Take disputed papers to document examiner’s laboratory at the first opportunity
3. If storage is necessary, keep in dry place away from excessive heat and strong light

Don’ts
1. Do not handle disputed excessively or carry them in a pocket for a long time
2. Do not mark the document either by conscious writing a printing at them with any
writing instrument
3. Do not mutilate on damage by repeated refolding, creasing, cutting, tearing or punching
for filling purposes
4. Do not allow anyone except qualified specialist to make chemical or other test; do not
treat or dust for latent fingerprints before consulting a document examiner

F. Photography and Questioned Documents

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

Purposes of Photography in Questioned Documents

1. Photographs serve as a record of the initial condition of a disputed document
2. Photographs make a clear what otherwise may be hidden or indistinct. By means of photographs,
a writing in question can be accurately enlarged so that every quality and characteristics of it can
be clearly and properly interpreted whether the facts so shown point to genuineness or to forgery
3. Any number of accurate reproductions of the document could be made through photographs, thus
affording unlimited opportunity for study, comparison and evaluation by any member of
examiner which would not be possible by using the document alone.
4. Photographs can be cut apart as may be desirable and the various classified for comparison
5. Photographs are also useful in showing delicate discolorations due to chemical erasures or other
fraudulent changes which may otherwise be overlooked, denied or misinterpreted
6. Erasures by abrasion made by an ordinary rubber eraser can sometimes be shown very clearly in
recorded in permanent form by a photograph taken with them paper placed obliquely to the plane
of the lens and plate and inclined at just right angle of reflected
7. Transmitted light photography is useful in the examination of watermarks and determining the
identity, or the difference in papers by showing arrangement of the fibers, the continuity of
strokes, by determining the retouching or patching of a writing by showing clearly the presence
of added ink film and the uneven distribution of ink interrupted strokes
8. Stereographic photo-micrograph shows conditions of writing in three-dimensional enlargement
and is useful in showing sequence of crossed lines, or showing whether a writing across a fold
preceded of followed the folding of the paper.

G. Instrument and Apparatus needed in Questioned Document Examination

1. Magnifying Lens- lenses 5X magnifying power with built-in lighting are found to be
more useful
2. Stereographic Binocular Microscope- a microscope where three (3) dimensional
enlargement is possible
3. Measuring Test Plates/ Transparent Glass Plates- used for signatures and typewritings
4. Table lamps- with adjustable shades like the available ``goose-neck`` lamp
5. Ultra-violet Lamp- used for developing or restoring erased writings
6. Infra-red Viewer- used in determining physical difference of the type papers and ink
7. Iodine Fuming Apparatus- used for developing latent fingerprints and restoration of
invisible writing
8. Silver Nitrate Solution Atomizer- used to spray silver nitrate paper. Also for latent
fingerprints
9. Transmitted Light Gadget- the light comes from the beneath or behind the glass on which
the paper is placed
10. Paper Thickness Gauge- use for measuring the thickness of the paper
11. Copy Camera- like a camera with macro lens.

II. HANDWRITING IDENTIFICATION

A. Introduction

Writing- it is a result of a very complicated series of acts, being as a whole, a combination of

certain forms which are the very visible result of mental and muscular habits acquired by
long, continued painstaking effort.

Handwriting- a visible effect of bodily movement which is an almost unconscious

expression of fixed muscular habits, reacting from fixed mental impressions of certain ideas
associated with scripts form.

B. Kinds of Handwriting

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

1. Cursive- writing in which the letter are for the most part joined together
2. Hand Lettering- any disconnected block capitals sometimes referred to as manuscripts
writing or letter printing
3. Disguise Writing- it is the writing of a person who deliberately try to alter his usual
writing habits in the hope of hiding his identity
4. Natural Writing- any specimen of writing executed without any attempt to control or
alter its identifying habits and its usual quality of execution

C. Physiological Basis of Handwriting

The impulse to form a letter begins in the brain’s writing center in the CORTEX.
This center near the motor area of the cortex is responsible for the finer movement
involved in handwriting. The importance of this center is that when it becomes disease as in
AGRAPHIA, one loses the ability to write although he could still grasped writing instrument.

The hand contains two kinds of muscles which function in the act of writing. A group of
EXTENSOR muscles push up the pen to form the UPWARD STROKES, and ease the tension
produced as a result of flexion by a group of muscles called the FLEXOR muscles which push
the pen to form DOWNWARD STROKE. These flexor and extensor muscles combine with the
lumbrical muscle to form LATERAL STROKES.

The delicate way in which the various muscles used in writing work together to produce
written forms is known as MOTOR COORDINATION.

D. Development of Handwriting

First Step

When a person first begins to learn the art of handwriting, penmanship copybook forms,
blackboard illustration of the different letters are placed before him. His first step is one of
imitation only by a process of drawing, painstaking, laborious slow copying of the letter
forms. The form of each letter at first occupies the focus of his attention.

Second Step

As the person progresses, the mater of form recedes, and the focus of attention is centered
on the execution of various letters, that is they are actually written instead of drawn.

Third Step

The manual operation in the execution of letters, after more progress, is likewise soon
relegated to the subjective mind and the process of writing becomes more or less automatic.
As the person reach maturity in writing by many repetitions, writing becomes an unconscious
coordinated movement that produces a record. Attention is no longer occupies given to the
process of writing itself because the subject matter to be written now occupies the focus of
attention.

E. Modification of handwriting

Factors that Modified Mature Writing

1. Education
2. Training
3. Personal Taste
4. Artistic Ability
5. Masculature and nerve tone; and the like

Manner of Modifying Mature Writing form Copy Book Forms

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

1. Simplication - discarding of unessential details and go as far as to strip the letter to

the skeleton making it either clear-cut and precise, or bare and careless.
2. Elaboration – decorative strokes are added to the plain letter forms, giving writing
rick and ample, or to ornate character.
3. Linear Pattern – writing shows no concern for form so that lines and angles
predominate, and loops and angles are not pronounced.

F. Examination of Handwriting

Processes in Scientific Method of Examination

1. Recognition (Analysis) of Characteristics – properties or characteristics are

observed, measured and determined.
2. Complete Comparison of All Characteristics – properties or characteristics of
the unknown are determined thru analysis are now compared with the familiar or
recorded properties of known items.
3. Correct Interpretations (Evaluation) of Characteristics - similarities or
dissimilarities in properties or characteristics will each have a certain value for
identification, determined by its likelihood or occurrence. The weight or
significance of each must therefore be considered.

G. Writing Characteristics

Writing Characteristics Commonly Involved in the Examination of Handwriting

1. Form – refers to the shape or design of the individual letters.

a. Arc or Arch – rounded inner part of an upper curve
b. Beard – an introductory up and down curve (double hitch)
c. Buckle knot – horizontal loop to complete a letter
c. Central part or body – small circle that lie on the base line
d.Dactus broken/junction broken – disconnected, non continuous stroke
e. Eyeloop/eyelet – Small oblong strokes
f. Foot of the letter or oval – the bottom part of the letter that lies on the base-
line
g. Diacritic – element added to complete a letter
h. Hitch – a backward introductory or ending stroke
i. Hook/through – a minute and involuntary talon – like formation often found at
the commencement of an initial stroke
j. Hump – the rounded outside top of the bend in small letters
k. Spur – lone running initial or terminal strokes
l. Knob – rounded appearance at the beginning and ending of stroke
m. Main stroke/shank stem – long downward stroke (backbone of the letter)
n. Whirl – long upward stroke
o. Space filler/terminal spur – long downward and upward terminal stoke

2. System – refers to the particular style or system of writing practiced or learned in

childhood.
I.1. Old English Round Hand of 1849
I.2. Modified Round Hand of 1960
I.3. Spencerian System of 1865-1890
I.4. Modern Vertical System 1890-1900
I.5. Angular System

3. Muscular Habits or Coordination – muscles should coordinate or contribute in

order to have a continuous process, downward and upward coordination in
making letters or words.

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LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

4. Retracing – any strokes which goes back over another writing stroke is
retracing.

5. Connections, Connecting Stroke or Links – it refers to the strokes or links

which connect a letter with one following.

6. Size – as a writing characteristic is somewhat divergent under varying conditions

and may have but little significance when applied to only one example, or to a
small quantity of writing like signatures, unless the divergence is clearly
pronounced.

7. Slant – this refers to the slope of writing in relation to the base line.

8. Spacing –between letters in words depend upon the length of the connecting
strokes or links.

9. Proportion – of a part or to the other part of a letter, or the relative height of one
letter to another letter can be found in different writings.

10. Movement – is an important element of handwriting. It embraces all of the

factors which are related to the motion of the writing instrument, skill, speed,
freedom, hesitation, rhythm, emphasis, tremor, and the like.

Different Writing Movements Employed by Different Writers

1. Finger Movement – thumb, index and middle finger are used exclusively in the
writing of letters.

2. Hand Movement – it involve actions of the hand as a whole, with fingers playing but
a minor role, their action being limited mainly to the formation of the smaller parts of the
letter.

3. Forearm or Muscular Movement – writing is produced by movement of both hand

and arm and also fingers in some cases. The elbow is the pivot of the lateral movement.

4. Whole-arm Movement – this movement involves action of the entire arm without rest
and is employed in very large ornamental writings, in ornamental penmanship, in
blackboard writing, and by few writers in making all the capital letters.

11. Line Quality – refers to the visible record in the written stroke of the basic
movement and manner of holding the writing instrument.

12. Tremor – a writing weakness portrayed by irregular shaky strokes.

*Deviations from uniform strokes or the lack of smoothness perfectly apparent
even without magnification.
*Lack of muscular skill with the pen.

Kinds of Tremor
1. Genuine Tremor such as Tremor of Age, Illiteracy and Weakness.
2. Tremor of Fraud

13. Skills – the proficiency in the art of writing usually perceived to manual dexterity
and legibility in writing.

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

14. Rhythm – the elements of the writing movement which is marked by regular or
periodic recurrences. It may be classified as smooth, intermittent, or jerky in its
quality.

15. Speed – slow, moderate and rapid.

16. Shading – the widening of the ink stroke due to added pressure on a flexible pen
point or to the use of stub pen.

Shading Considerations:
1. Form
2. Intensity
3. Skill
4. Frequency
5. Exact location

17. Pen – emphasis - it refers to the more obvious increase in the width of the
stroke.

18. Pen Position – the relationship between the pen point and the paper is known as
pen position and the line of writing and between the pen point and the paper
surface, are the elements of pen position. Both conditions may be reflected in the
writing.

19. Pen Pressure – the average force with which the pen contacts the paper, it may
be estimated from an examination of the writing. Pen pressure as opposed to pen
emphasis deals with the usual or average force involved in the writing rather than
the periodic increase.

20. Pen Lifts – an interruption in a stroke caused by removing the writing instrument
from the paper.

*Hiatus – Interruption in strokes produced without lifting the writing instrument

21. Terminal and Initial Strokes – terminal strokes refer to the last element of a
letter; initial strokes refer to the first element of a letter of first letter of a loop.

22. Alignment – is the relation of successive characters or letters of a word,

signature or line of writing to an actual or imaginary baseline.

23. Arrangement

24. Rubric or Embellishment – this refers to additional, unnecessary strokes, not

necessary to legibility of letter forms or writings but incorporated in writing for
decorative or ornamental purpose.

H. Classification of Writing Characteristics

Writing Characteristics – any property or mark which distinguishes, and referred to as

identifying marks in document examination.

Habits – Any repeated elements which may serve to individualized writing

Group of Handwriting Characteristics

1. Class Characteristics – those which conform to the general style acquired when learning
to write and which is fashionable at the particular time and place

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

2. Individual Characteristics – those introduced into the handwriting consciously or

unconsciously by the writer. They are highly personal or peculiar and are unlikely to
occur in other instances.

Kinds of Individual Characteristics

1. Conspicuous Characteristics – those that can be seen by our naked eye.
2. Inconspicuous Characteristics – those that cannot be seen by our naked eye at the first
glance, therefore, it needs special instruments to locate them prior to identification.

Rules on the Individuality of Handwriting

Rule 1. Each mature writer has a handwriting which is personal and individual to him/her
alone.

Corollary 1. Every individual’s handwriting undergoes gradual changes in the course of

his life.
Corollary 2. The gradual changes in handwriting which occur during a person’s lifetime
while following certain general patterns are individual to each writer.

Rule 2. Deterioration of an individual’s writing due to any cause affects all of the writing
properties and is not confined to change of one or two elements.

Corollary 1. An individual’s handwriting may deteriorate very rapidly due to a sharp

physical decline resulting from either severe illness or old age.
Corollary 2. A transitory change may be injected into handwriting by temporary physical
and mental conditions, such as fatigue, nervous tension, and intoxication or severe illness
from which the writer ultimately recovers. In these cases, handwriting reverts to its
normal qualities after the causes of deterioration are removed.

Rule 3. A writer cannot exceed his maximum writing ability or skill without serious effort
and training applied over a period of time.

Rule 4. Attempted disguise leads to an inferior, never a better quality of handwriting.

Disguise – any changes or alterations and modifications employed by a person to distort or alter
his usual or normal writing style and habits in the hope of hiding his identity.

Corollary 1. A lack of uniformity in execution and form, especially in extended

specimen is typical of disguise.
Corollary 2. Converse. Uniformity of writing qualities in an extended specimen of
handwriting is an indication of lack of disguise.

Rule 5. Writing is an essential property of everyone’s handwriting.

Corollary 1. The degree of variation in writing tends to increase more rapidly and less
careful execution.
Corollary 2. Variation in writing is related to the conditions under which it was prepared.

Variation – partial changes, alterations, departures and modifications in the normal formation of
the alphabetical character.

Corollary 3. The purpose for which the writings were intended may govern the degree of
variation in them.
Corollary 4. In repeated specimens of writing prepared at one time, variation tends to be
less than between specimens written from day to day.

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

I. Identification of Handwriting

Rule 1. The individuality of handwriting is the basis of all identification.

Rule 2. Handwriting is identified by the combination of all its attributes and qualities
including both those derived from the writing movement and those related to form.

Corollary 1. Handwriting portrays through its various attributes the writing movements
by which it was formed.
Corollary 2. A particular writing instrument may not fully reflect all of the qualities of
writing movement.

Rule 3. Writing standards are necessary to establish the individual’s normal writing habits
and to show the degree of variation common to his writing.

Corollary 1. The best standards include writing which was prepared for a comparable
purpose and under similar writing conditions to the matter under investigation.

Rule 4. A specimen of writing was written by a particular person if all its identifying
elements are a part of his handwriting and furthermore, the variation within its specimen
falls within his range of writing variation.

Rule 5. A specimen of writing was not written by a particular person If there exist
significant differences between its identifying elements and those of the suspected writers.

J. Comparison of Writing Characteristics

Comparison – an examination of two writings for the purpose of evaluating their relative
significance for similarity and identity or non-identity.

Standard – in questioned documents examination, it refers to those things whose origins are
known and can be proven and which can be legally used as samples to compare with other
matters in question.

Types of Standards

1. Procured or Collected Standards – those which can be obtained from files of documents
executed in the course of a person’s day-to-day business, official, social or personal activities.
They often serve as the best or most appropriate standards in the determination of genuineness of
a questioned signature or writing.

2. Request Standards – those which are given or made at the request of an investigator for
purposes of making a comparative examination with the questioned writing. They served in
addition to collected standards which could possibly obtain as appropriate standards in
determining identity or the authorship of an anonymous letter.

Points to be considered in gathering procured or collected standards

1. Amount of standard writing available

2. Similarity of subject matter
3. Relative dates of the standards with the questioned signature or writing
4. Conditions under which both questioned and known writings or signatures are prepared.
5. Kind of instrument and paper used

Points to be considered in obtaining requested standards

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

1. The material should be dictated to the writer

2. Dictated text must be carefully selected
3. An adequate amount of writing must be included
4. Some portions of the dictation must be repeated at least three times
5. Writing instruments and paper should be similar to those used in questioned document
6. Dictation should be interrupted at an interval
7. Normal writing conditions should be arranged

II. EXAMINATION OF SIGNATURES

Signature – it refers to a person’s name written by him on a document as a sign of

acknowledgement

Model Signature – a genuine signature which is used to prepare an imitated or traced forgery.

Evidential Signature – is not simply a signature, it is a signature signed at particular time and
place, under particular conditions, while the signer was at a particular reason and purpose for
recording his name.

Classes of Signature

1. Formal or Complete – class of signature used in acknowledging important

document such as will, checks, contracts and business papers.
2. Informal or Cursory – a class of signature for routinary document or made for
personal correspondence.
3. Careless Scribble – used for mail carrier, delivery of goods, purchase of equipment
or an autograph collector.

Two Styles of Signature

1. Conventional or Ordinary Copy-Book Form – wherein the letters are legible.

2. Highly Individualized – which are characterized by a series of intertwining strokes,
ornamentations and flourishes.

Characteristics of Genuine Signatures

1. Degree of Skill – genuine signature even showing tremors will show free connecting
and terminal strokes.
2. Firmness of Strokes – in genuine signatures, hesitations and stop are on natural
places.
3. Habitual Speed of Writing – even in slow and unskilled signatures, there will be
consistency in speed.

Indications or Symptoms of Forgery

1. Hesitations – pen stops at unusual places

2. Non-continuous strokes
3. Abrupt changes of direction of line of strokes , showing uncertainty of movement
4. Concealed or hidden joining
5. Bulbous or blunt initial and terminal strokes
6. Misplaced shading
7. Shading in more than one directions (frequent change of pen-hold)
8. Lack of variation in pen pressure
9. Capricious changes of slant
10. Defective line quality – stilted, drawn quality, devoid of free, natural, normal writing
movements
11. Unnecessary, careful patching or retouching (fraudulent touching)

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

12. Unnatural pen lifts

13. Tremor
14. Presence of carbon, pencil or indented outlines along the strokes or inked patterns

III. ALTERATIONS

Methods of Alterations

1. Erasures – the removal of writing, typewriting or printing from document

2. Addition – any matter made a part of the document after its original preparations.
3. Substitution
4. Interlineations or Intercalation (Insertion between Lines)
5. Obliterations or “Smeared-Over” writing – blacking out portions or writings by some
opaque materials.

IV. TYPEWRITERS AND TYPE PRINT EXAMINATION

Typewriter – a machine which has a very limited or no memory capability without an

outside force cannot manipulate anything. (Christian Latham Shules 1867, inventor of
typewriter)

Typeface – the printing surface of the block

Characters – in connection with typewriting is use to include letter, symbols, numerals, or

points of punctuations.

Transitory Defects – an identifying typewriter characteristics, which can be eliminated by

cleaning the machine or replacing the ribbon.

Permanent Defects – an identifying characteristics, of a typewriter which cannot be

corrected by simply cleaning the typeface or replacing the ribbon.

History and Personality Behind the Development of the Typewriter

The first typewriter was the Remington produced in 1874. The invention of Remington
Mode 2 was in 1879. Calligraphy was invented in 1883. Columbia was invented in 1893.
William A. Bart – (Michigan 1829) applied for a fastened for a mechanical writing machine.

Problems that may be Resolved in Typewriting Identification

1. To determine whether a typewriting was accomplished in suspected typewriter.

2. To determine whether a typewriting was prepared on a known typewriter was
actually typewritten on its purported date.
3. To determine the make and brand of the typewriter from which the typewriting was
prepared.
4. To determine whether all of typewriting operations was prepared by a suspected
typist.
5. To determine whether a document was all typewritten continuously at different time
on the same machine or at different times on different machine.
6. To determine whether the whole fraudulent typewritten pages has been substituted.
7. To determine whether a paragraph or interlineations have been added to old letter,
deeds of contracts after execution or whether modifying conditions have been added,
to receipt paid checks and similar vouches.
8. To determine whether the signer of typewritten documents were revised with
additions prejudicial to the signers.

Basis of Typewriting Identifications

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

1. Type Size
Standard Type Size

a. Pica – 10 characters per INCH

b. Elite – 12 characters per INCH

2. Type Designs

a. 8 key letters and other alphabetical characters

b. Numerals 1-9 and other signs and symbols

3. Similar Combinations of Correctly and Defective Writing Character

a. Alignment Defects

1. Horizontal Alignment Defects – an alignment defect which the character points to the
right or left of its proper position.
2. Vertical Alignment Defects – a character printing above or below its proper position.
3. Character Printing “Off-Its-Feet” – the condition of a typeface printing heavier on one
side over the remainder of its outline.

b. Typeface Defects

1. Twisted Letters – its letter and character is designed to a point as certain fixed angle to the
baseline due to wear and damage to the type bars and the type blocks some letter become
twisted so that they lean to the right of their correct slant.
2. Rebound – a defect in which a character prints a double impression which is lighter or
slightly off-set to the right or left.
3. Actual Breakage – any peculiarity of typewriting caused by actual damage to the type
face metal which may be actual breaks in the outline of the letters.
4. Clogged Type Face (Dirty Type Face) – with the use of the typefaces becomes filled with
lint, dirt and ink particularly in enclosed letters such as; o, e, g, etc.

Procedure in the Examination of Handwriting

1. The Standards should first be studied. This is to guard against the possibility of false
standards being included in a group. The standard should be checked as to
contemporariness, adequacy, classified and in some instances, measured.
2. Questioned writings, studied, analyzed and classified.
3. Examine questioned documents under stereoscopic microscope.
4. Examine questioned documents under direct oblique light and transmitted light.
5. If necessary, examination under UV light and Infrared light.
6. Photomicrography, especially of line quality.
7. Enlargement to proper diameters of photographs.
8. Charting in juxtaposition of photographic enlargements of questioned documents and
standards.
9. Letter of/or comparison.
10. Conclusion

Precautions to be Observed by a Questioned Document Examiners in the Examination of

Documents

1. Avoid giving opinion being influenced in any way by those who present the problem.
2. Avoid being led into giving an unwilling or partial opinion.

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 LECTURE NOTES IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS EXAMINATION
BY
PROF. JOPHER F. NAZARIO, RC, MCJ-Crim.
Associate Dean, Universidad de Manila, College of Criminology

3. Avoid forming any definite opinion from general appearance.

4. Avoid basing an opinion entirely upon system, nationality or class characteristics.
5. Avoid a hasty conclusion and especially refuse to give an offhand or sidewalk opinion.
6. Avoid giving any opinion whatever on inadequate standards, or standards that in any way
are under suspicion.
7. Avoid giving an opinion on a disputed writing to limited in extent.
8. Avoid being influenced by the opinion of other experts.
9. Avoid as a rule, the giving of one oral instead of a written report that later may be
misinterpreted or exaggerated in a report to others.
10. Avoid “elevant hour” alternate examinations with no time for review and re-examination.

18