Proper Collection of Requested Writings
Successful comparison of known and unknown handwritings depends in part on the quality and quantity of the exemplars. Listed below are some of the more important considerations that must be kept in mind when collecting known samples.
• The most important consideration is that there must be a sufficient amount of writing to ensure that the normal variations that are present in everyone’s handwriting are represented. There is no standard amount of writing that would suffice, but some examiners believe that 10–20 samples of the comparable writing should be sufficient.
• Each writing sample should be on a separate sheet of paper and should be removed from the sight of the writer before collecting the next sample.
• Requested writings should be collected by dictation, not copying. Dictation minimizes the chance of deliberate alteration of handwriting because the subject must concentrate on listening to the dictation.
• Dictated passages should be long. This will also help uncover attempts to deliberately alter handwriting because the longer someone is forced to write, the harder it is to make deliberate alterations to what is essentially a subconscious process.
• The requested writing should contain some words and phrases that are present in the questioned document. If there are misspelled words in the questioned document, they should also be given in the exemplar. The same holds true with mistakes in punctuation.
• To the extent possible, the subject should be supplied with the same type of writing instrument and paper used in the questioned document. The subject should also be made as comfortable as is practical and there should be adequate lighting.
The temporal limitation of requested writings can sometimes be overcome by using nonrequested writing exemplars. These are examples of the subject’s writing that are taken in the normal course of business or personal transactions. They might include checks, bills, a diary, deeds, etc. Every effort should be made to obtain nonrequest writings that were written around the same time as the questioned document. The major problem with nonrequested writings is establishing their authenticity. In order for such writings to be admissible in court, there must be proof that the subject wrote them. This may be accomplished in a number of ways including having a witness who saw the subject write the exemplar, having the subject available to testify that the subject wrote the exemplar, or getting an exception to the hearsay rule under the business records exception. Normally, evidence such as nonrequested handwriting would be inadmissible in court because it is hearsay: a statement (in this case the handwriting sample) that is made out of court by someone who was not under oath at the time the statement was uttered or written, and the statement is now being used to prove what it says. The hearsay rule protects defendants against the problem of having unsponsored evidence in court and no one to cross-examine about the truth of the evidence. An exception to the hearsay rule is the “business record.” This is a document that is created in the normal course of a business and because it is important to the business, there would be little use in falsifying it. A nonrequested exemplar made in the normal course of business can sometimes be admitted as an authentic example of the writer’s handwriting. There have also been situations where a questioned document examiner has compared nonrequested writings to admitted writings and shown them to be written by the same hand. In most questioned document examinations, it is preferable to have both request and nonrequest exemplars.
