WHAT IS A QUESTIONED DOCUMENT?
A questioned document need not be a piece of paper; it can be any object. To be a document, it must contain linguistic or numerical markings that are put there by handwriting, typewriting, copying, computer printing, or by other means. If there is doubt about whether the document is authentic (e.g., an authentic draft card or passport) or who the author is, such as the case of the documents alleged to have been written by Howard Hughes in the case cited at the beginning of the chapter, then it is a questioned document. For example, in a case in Virginia that occurred about 25 years ago, a man wrote a threatening note in large letters using spray paint, on the outside wall of a woman’s house. By the broad definition given above, the wall is a questioned document. Usually, however, questioned documents are bills, wills, letters, checks, contracts, passports, lottery tickets, driver’s licenses, etc. The important point here is that it contains markings, letter, or numbers, whose source or authenticity is in doubt. Although authorship is often the concern of the document examiner, there are many cases where the examiner is asked to determine if an “official” document such as a driver’s license is authentic. In addition, there are cases where an authentic document has been altered by erasure, obliteration, destruction, or the addition of extra markings.
