Questioned Documents

1. • .

2. By NISHU
VOLUNTEER OF APPLIED
FORENSIC RESEARCH
SCIENCES

4. • What is Questioned Documents?
• History of Questioned Documents.
• Methodology.
• Common Types of Questioned Documents Subjected to
Forensic Document Examination.

5. • Questioned Document Examination is a branch of
forensic science that deals with documents having a
suspicious authenticity. Also called as Forensic
Document Examination, it involves the application of
scientific methods and principals for document
examination. This helps to produce evidence about a
questioned document that is admissible in the court
of law to prove its legitimacy.
• Forensic Document Examination or Questioned
Document Examination involves the scientific
examination of suspicious documents. A Questioned
Document can be a handwriting, signature, mark or
any handwritten/typewritten document whose
reliability or source is doubtful.

6. • Questioned Document Examination generally
involves handwriting examination in case of
handwritten documents. For typewritten documents,
a detailed analysis of the printer and the printing
process is done.
• The different types of questioned documents could
include any document having personal or business
connotations. It need not necessarily be a ‘document’
per se. For example, a suicide note bearing a
handwritten or typewritten text and a forged will, both
can both be considered as a questioned document.
• Forensic Document Examiners define a ‘questioned
document’ as any material that contains marks,
symbols or signs intended to communicate a
message.

7. • Albert S. Osborn (1858–1946) also known as FATHER OF
QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS was born in the state of
Michigan. He attended the State College at Lansing, and
in 1882 began a position as a penmanship teacher at
Rochester Business Institute (ASQDE, 2013). Teaching
handwriting evolved into an interest in the identification
of handwriting, typewriting, paper, ink, and other
questioned document problems.
• Mr. Osborn transitioned to full time work as a forensic
document examiner in 1920 in New York City. He met
informally for many years with colleagues at his home to
discuss research and methodology in the examination of
questioned documents. In 1942, the group formed a
formal association.
• The American Society of Questioned Document
Examiners was formed with Albert S. Osborn as the
first president.

8. • ACE Method-
• ACE is an acronym originated by the Canadian FDE, Roy Huber. ACE
represents: Analysis, Comparison, and Evaluation. He used it in his article
published in The Criminal Law Quarterly (Huber, 1959). He described the
process of identification in the following way There are three distinct
stages in establishing the identity of any person or thing through which the
forensic scientist must pass, consciously or otherwise, in the course of his
examination
• 1. Analysis:- The “unknown” item must be classified according to its
properties or characteristics. These properties may be directly observable,
measurable, or implied, but they are the parts which make up the whole.
• 2. Comparison:- Stripped of its pictorial effects, its subjective disillusions,
and now seen for what it really is, a comparison is made of the properties
of the item found through analysis with the known of recorded properties
of others whose identity is unquestioned.
• 3. Evaluation:- It is not sufficient that the comparison disclose similarities
or dissimilarities in any of the characteristic properties of knowns
unknowns. Each property will have a certain value for
identification purposes, determined chiefly by its relative
frequency of occurrence. The weight or
significance of each must be considered.

9. • At present, every other person is adept at using Adobe
Photoshop, Acrobat and other visual editing software.
This has made document forgery a cakewalk for
individuals with corrupt intentions. The properties of a
questioned document that are examined include
handwriting, signatures, and typewriting.
• Some of the common types of questioned documents
subjected to forensic document examination are stated
below.
• • Wills
• Cheques
• Bank Drafts
• Agreements
• Receipts
• Laminated Documents

10. • • Stamp Papers
• Passports
• ID Cards
• Licenses
• Currency notes
• Suicide notes
• Sometimes even documents that do not bear any visible
mark is subjected to forensic document examination. For
example, documents kept below other documents while
writing may contain impression evidence. Even burned or
shredded documents can give significant leads to an
investigation if they are reconstructed.