Forensic Document Analysis Essay

Critical Analysis of Forensic Document Examination The history of document examination is said to have started with an individual named Albert S. Osborn. He was a penmanship instructor and was chronicled as a document examiner in 1887 (Ubelaker, 2012, p. 234). He wrote several books and articles on examining documents and giving expert testimony, with, perhaps his most notable work being Questioned Documents from 1910 (Ubelaker, 2012, p. 234). The title of the book, Questioned Documents, refers to what the examiners call the documents they are inspecting. In essence, they are any document with which some issue has been raised or that is the subject of an investigation (Saferstein, 2011, p. 624). The examination of documents and writing comparisons are believed to span further back in time. However, Osborn’s writings helped to bring greater acceptance to the technique in both courts, and society …show more content…
240). The Daubert standard originated from a case in 1993 called Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Hanna, Mazza, & Committee on Daubert Standards, 2006, p. 1). The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and led to a court ruling that judges should act as “gatekeepers”, screening expert testimony by first assessing the reliability of the scientific method and reasoning used by the individuals testifying (Hanna, Mazza, & Committee on Daubert Standard, 2006, p. 1). The Daubert has several suggested criteria including validity, peer review, known or potential error rates and existence of general acceptance (Ubelaker, 2012, p. 240). To date, an overwhelming number of federal, as well as state courts have found that forensic handwriting examination has fulfilled the Daubert requirements (Ubelaker, 2012, p. 240). Similarly, all federal and state appellate courts have found document examination to be admissible under the same requirements (Ubelaker, 2012,