02.27.08
Adequate Exemplars…
An exemplar is a handwriting sample. An adequate number of relevant exemplars is necessary to conduct a document examination. Just as no two people write alike and each case is different, the number of exemplars needed to perform an examination may vary. Exemplars provided should be comparable to the disputed text, adequate in amount, and written around the same time period as the questioned document. The subject matter of a disputed document or handwriting should be similar to the subject matter of the known (collected specimen standard) exemplars. The conditions under which the questioned and known writings and the type of writing instrument and paper (or form) should be similar.
Most signatures include the full written name of an individual, which provides many facets of letters, strokes, connectors and placements to examine. A recent case study involved only two initials as the normal course of business signature on the disputed document. However, at times the writer also used a full signature as his normal course of business signature. This provided a challenge for not only the document examiner, but the client as well.
Finding an adequate number of two-initial signatures to provide for the document examination proved challenging for the client. And having a limited number of verifiable two-initial signatures to examine limited the conclusion in this case. Adequate, comparable exemplars are paramount to this type of document examination. As a result, an unqualified opinion was not possible in this case.
It is the opinion of this document examiner that the use of only two initials as one’s normal course of business signature may provide an easier signature for an attempted forgery. The use of initials gives the forger only one, two or three letters to imitate versus needing to simulate all the letters in a full signature. This is not to say that forensic document examiners are unable to detect forged initials. Each writer possesses unique handwriting characteristics which are as individual as the person themselves. Many legal documents utilize initials and a document examiner is often called upon to examine initials with successful results.
