GSC – DDC Form 1

Republic of the Philippines Date: ________________

State Colleges and Universities Series No.: ____________
GUIMARAS STATE COLLEGE
McLain, Buenavista, Guimaras

MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION AND AN OVERVIEW TO QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS

OBJECTIVES: This chapter gives the discussion on the Introduction and an Overview
to Questioned Documents. At the end of the topic, the students should be able to:
1. Determine the importance of Questioned Documents Examination and
its significance to the Philippine Judicial System.
2. Understand what Document is and visualize its kinds and types.
3. Identified Questioned Document Examination, its nature and concept.
4. Determine the Brief History of Forensic Document Examination.

INTRODUCTION

Questioned documents examination (Forensic Document Examination) is one

of the professional courses in the study of Bachelor of Science in Criminology
program as mandated by the Commission on Higher Education governed by CMO
No. 05 series of 2018 entitled Policies, Standards, and Guidelines for Bachelor of
Science in Criminology (BS Criminology) program.

Among the branches of forensic science it is the field that its common issue in
dealing is about value of a certain real property, wealth or money through documents
as a proof of ownership. The actor uses these documents to disguised, take
advantage, and falsely acquired the said properties belonging to another.

It is a branch of forensic science that covers the scientific methods of

identification and examination of questionable documents, handwriting examination,
detection of forgery, falsification and counterfeiting of documents which stress the
procedures of restoring and deciphering erasures and obliterations; examination of
documents via visible light, ultra-violet and infrared radiation and colored powders;
Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
 recognition and selection of standards; and examination of questionable typewriting,
computerized documents and other forms of modern printing.

One of the most common problems nowadays is the forgery in document

involving signature, text or the whole part of it. This disputed document it could be
commonly found in wills, cheques, bank drafts, agreements, receipts, laminated
documents, photocopied documents, stamp papers, passports, identification cards,
licenses, currency notes and suicide notes. The document is in questioned if there is
a doubt regarding the authenticity of its content and source. In order to clear the
dispute with this particular document it is necessary to undergo a thorough laboratory
examination conducted by the Document Examiner.

Document examination has a crucial role play in investigations involving

documentary evidence. It is an imperative for law enforcers to have an enough
knowledge regarding document examination; it could be in criminal investigation, civil
cases and legal proceedings. Forgeries and falsifications of documents are classified
as crimes against public interest which is punishable under the law.

DOCUMENT

Document refers to any material, which contains marks, symbols or signs

either visible or partially visible, which furnish information or ultimately convey
meaning to another person. Document is in the form of pencil, ink writing or printing
on paper.

QUESTIONED DOCUMENT

A document is questioned because its origin, its contents, or the circumstances

and story regarding its production arouse suspicion as to its genuineness or may
adversely scrutinized simply because it displeases someone.

A “questioned document” is any signature, handwriting, typewriting, or other

mark whose source or authenticity is in dispute or doubtful. Letters, checks, driver
licenses, contracts, wills, voter registrations, passports, petitions, threatening letters,
suicide notes, and lottery tickets are the most common questioned documents.
Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
 QUESTIONED DOCUMENT EXAMINATION

Questioned document examination refer to the act of making a close and

critical study of any document-questioned, disputed or attacked, necessary to
discover the facts about them.

Two Broad Classes of Questioned Document Examination

1. Criminalistic Examination – for detection of forgeries, alterations and

obliterations. The criminalistic examination of questioned document is similar to
other kinds of laboratory work. Dr. Wilson Harrison, the noted British Examiner of
questioned document, says that an intelligent police investigator can detect almost
75% of all of his magnifiers and measuring tools. The examination of document in
the criminalistics laboratory is also scientific procedure which can be learned in a
very short time.

2. Handwriting Identification – to find out who is the author of the writing.

Handwriting identification is a more difficult procedure and requires a long study
and experience. Because we recognize the handwriting of other person easily, we
think that it is a simple matter to detect forgery in handwriting. This is not true. The
problem is that no person ever writes a letter exactly the same every time. The
handwriting experts have to learn differences of form and structure by a sort of
intuition, which is not easy to reduce to a science. For this reason, the police
investigator or the laboratory criminalist should confine his work to the detection of
forgeries and erasures and leave the identification of handwriting to a more
qualified document expert.

Three Essential Phases of Scientific Handwriting Examination

1. Recognition of characteristics (analysis)

2. Complete comparison of all characteristics (comparison)
3. Correct interpretation of characteristics (evaluation)

Processes in Scientific Method of Examination

Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
 1. Analysis. Properties or characteristics are observed, measured and determined.

2. Comparison. Properties or characteristics of the unknown items determined thru

analysis are compared with the familiar or recorded properties of known items.

3. Evaluation. Similarities or dissimilarities in property or characteristics that have

certain value for identification are determined by their likelihood or occurrence.

Principle Involved in Handwriting Identification

1. No two writers write exactly alike.

2. The physical writing condition and position of the person including his writing
instrument may affect the handwriting characteristics but they do not confine all its
identifying elements.

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

4. The combination of handwriting characteristics including those derived from form

and writing movements are essential elements of identification.

5. Individuality in handwriting can only be determined through comparative

examination with the standard written or prepared under comparable conditions.

6. Similarity does not mean identity.

7. Complete identity means definite forgery.

8. A writing was written by one person when there is a sufficient number of identical
writing habits and identical primary controlling characteristics and in addition, the
absence of divergent characteristics. And a writing was not written by one person
when there is a sufficient number of divergent writing characteristics and the
absence of identical primary controlling characteristics.

Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
 BRIEF HISTORY OF FORENSIC DOCUMENT EXAMINATION

THIRD CENTURY: The time of Titus and Anthony. Jurists established protocols for
the determination of forgery and the manner in which forgeries were to be detected.
In Imperial Rome, where it was common practice to fraudulently prepare official
documents, Rome personages such as Titus and Anthony made large profits in
preparing forgeries of all types of documents related to property rights. It is said that
Titus, was “the most skillful forger of his time”. From all historical accounts, it was
mandated under Roman Law that procedures for detection of forgery be
implemented. During the sixth century, the Roman Emperor Justinian dictated
guidelines for the use of handwriting comparisons in Roman courts. Here, the
presiding judge through his discretionary powers appointed individuals in the
community with special skill in writing to perform an examination of questioned writing
and give testimony to its authenticity. It must be pointed out that no scientific methods
were employed because the comparisons of the writings were on "likeness" or
similarity of the writing itself.

SIXTH CENTURY: Justinian Code. Established further guidelines for the using of
Sixth Century handwriting comparisons in the courts. A judge could in his discretion
request persons with special skill in writing to perform an examination of Sixth
Century perform an examination of questioned writing and give testimony as the
authenticity of the questioned text.

1887: Bell vs. Brewster United States (10 N.E. 679, 44 Ohio St. 690). “The Ohio
Supreme Court recognized the importance of handwriting as a means of identifying a
person” 2 Utilizing USA 1887 identifying a person. Utilizing standards of comparison,
expert comparative analysis and opinion testimony regarding writing to established
questioned writing as prepared by a specific writer.

1900: Daniel T. Ames. One of the earliest treatises by the founder of the Penman’s
Art Journal, penmanship author and “Examiner of Contested Handwriting in Courts of
Justice”.

New York vs. R.B. Molineaux. Notable early criminal case involving the testimony of
several handwriting experts. Roland Molineaux, a chemist, was tried for the poisoning
murder of a woman, Katherine Adams.

Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
 1903: Matter of Rice (Rice –Patrick Case). Notable early forged Will case in New
York. The result of this case indirectly led to the Rice Institute foundation.

1910: Albert Sherman Osborn. “Questioned Documents”. A comprehensive text

which established a greater focus on not only the examination of handwriting and
signatures, but of other types of evidence appearing on documents including paper,
ink, typewriting and alterations. Albert S. Osborn also, during the early part of the
century, began to invite other document examiners to his home in Upper Montclair,
NJ. These meetings were the beginnings of what would become the American
Society of Questioned Document Examiners. He is considered the “Father of
Questioned Document Examination”.

1923: Frye vs. United States 293 F, 1013 (DC Cir. 1923). “The Frye Standard”.
Although this decision came about as a result of the use of polygraph testing, it was
the standard by which expert testimony was allowed for decades. Among other
things, it demanded general acceptance for expertise and methodology.

1924: Adams vs. Ristine 122 S.E. 126, 138 Va 273, 31 A.L.R 1413. “Chock‐full of
document law points, covering many questions including qualifications of experts,
scope of cross‐examination and use of photographic evidence.” This was a landmark
case due to the number of issues which were addressed dealing with expert
testimony in the field.

1929: John H. Wigmore. “Scientific Detection Laboratory”. The organization of the

first forensic science laboratory, the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory in Chicago,
IL, began in 1929. It started under private endowmet, but within one or two years,
because of the influence of Professor John H. Wigmore, it was affiliated with
Northwestern University School of Law. This laboratory was modelled after
multidisciplinary European laboratories and included a questioned document section.

1935: State of New Jersey vs. Bruno Richard Hauptmann. “The Lindbergh
Kidnapping”. Albert S. Osborn, Albert D. Osborn, Elbridge W. Stein, Clark Sellers,
John H. Tyrrell, H.J. Walter, Harry Cassidy and Dr. Wilmer Souder (the only public
examiner), were consulted independently and opined Hauptmann had prepared
multiple ransom demand notes.

1942: American Society of Questioned Document Examiners. With Albert S.

Osborn presiding, the ASQDE was formally established. Membership in organization
was entirely by invitation. Its meetings were completely educational in scope, and
Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
 annual attendance as well as full participation in the program were an absolute
requirement for a continuing invitation considered many be the invitation. The ASQDE
is considered, by many, to primary national organization disseminating research in
the United States.

1956: People vs. John LaMarca. (Kidnap/Murder of Peter Weinberger). FBI experts
sift through 75,000 police record signatures, expanding the search to probation
records. John LaMarca was identified through federal district court records.

1959: James V.P. Conway. “Evidential Documents”. A well regarded text by Conway
of the Postal Inspector in charge of the San Francisco Identification Laboratory
(USPS). The book was a complete guide, but among the first to cover the subject
matter with brevity and considered an excellent introduction to the field for the trial
lawyer.

1977: American Board of Forensic Document Examiners. The ABFDE’s stated

objectives are two‐fold: to establish, maintain and enhance standards of qualification
for those who practice forensic document examination, and to certify applicants who
comply with ABFDE requirements for this expertise. In doing so, the Board aims to
safeguard the public interest by ensuring that anyone who claims to be a specialist in
forensic document examination does, in fact, possess the necessary skills and
qualifications

1982: Ordway Hilton. (Scientific Examination of Questioned Documents – Revises

Edition). Hilton’s book, with the publication of the Revised Edition, became the pre‐
eminent training text of the modern document examiner. Hilton’s book, along with the
writings of Dr. Wilson Harrison, Osborn, Conway; and then later Huber, Ellen,
Huber/Headrick; and most recently Kelly/Lindblom would form the texts utilized in
training and the guide for published protocol development.

1989: Denbeaux, Saks and Risinger. “Exorcism of Ignorance as a Proxy for Rational
Knowledge: The Lessons of Handwriting Identification Expertise”. The University of
Pennsylvania Law Review article which focused attention on forensic document
examination and particularly handwriting examination. Largely criticized by the field,
the article certainly can be credited with ending the complacency of the field with
respect research to empirical research, protocol development and other issues.

Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
 WORK SHEET NO.1

Name: ________________________________________ Rating: __________

Year/Section: _________________________________ Date:
____________

Instruction: Please answer your worksheet in our Google classroom.

1. What is a Document? Discuss its importance (5pts).
2. Discuss the nature of Questioned Document Examination (5pts).
3. Discuss and differentiate Criminalistics Examination from Handwriting
Identification (10pts).
4. Give at least five (5) Principles Involved in Handwriting Identification and
discuss each (15pts)
5. After reading the introductory part of our topic, can you find its importance
to our judicial system? Discuss (10pts).

GOOD LUCK!

Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty
Prepared by:
VIOLETA C. EFONDO
CCJE Faculty