Kathie Koppenhaver, FDE

I travelled to Baltimore Md, this past weekend to attend Kathie Koppenhaver's Forensic Document Examiners Conference held at the BWI Marriott hotel.

I saw many of my colleagues from past conferences, and we picked up right where we left off.

Kathie talked to us about the image of an Expert Witness, how to dress, how to behave etc.

We learned about different court room displays and the pros and cons for each. We discussed jury books, computer/video projection, and static displays.

Bill showed us his lab setup, including his stereo microscope, and his magnifying cameras. He brought out his IR filter, and we all got to see if our camera was capable of seeing IR. MOst of the point & click digitals could see IR, but the more expensive cameras (like the Nikon D80 or the Canon Rebel) had a hot mirror in it which stops the camera from seeing Infrared.


We learned how to take requested writings from Bob Baier, who is an excellent speaker and document examiner.

Anne Smith, from Virginia, showed us a cool new program that lets you do measuring and statistical analysis with computer generated calipers, compasses, and protractors. The information is then exported into Excel, where formulas are used to get the statistical information.

Linda Hodges, from North Carolina, presented on book collection software called bookcollectorz. This software will allow you to scan in your books (via the ISBN) or it can go online and gather information using only the ISBN or Title. This is a program that will grow with any avid book collection.

A mock trial was held, and those not court qualified were able to get some experience and those who have been court qualified before, were able to hone their skills.

After the 2 day conference, Kathie was kind enough to invite everyone to her office, so we could see how she operated her business. A great time was had by all, and it was over in a flash.

We are already planning next year's conference--it is one you dont want to miss.

Miami Dade Police Training

In June, I was fortunate enough to go to Miami for a week long training in their Forensic Digital Image Processing Workshop. Using Photoshop, we were taught how to legally enhance photos from crime scenes, as well as documents where the writing was obscured or marked through.

We were taught by Brian Dalrymple and Associates. Brian is from Canada and has many years experience working with photo enhancement.

Phil Sanfilippo and Rosa Holtz were the course coordinators. Phil is a member of Miami Dade Police Dept.

On the last day we did a mock trial and had an attorney come in and do the questioning. He was tough, but we learned quite a bit from him.

I am looking forward to going to more of the classes offered by Miami Dade Police.

Lawyer falsified emails and a memo in lawsuit

Here is a recent news article on altered documents dated Jun 5, 2007:

Lawyer altered documents in Best Buy case
Company says attorney in alleged MSN scam case acted on his own

updated 6:03 p.m. ET, Tues., June. 5, 2007


SEATTLE - A lawyer for Best Buy Co. has acknowledged that he falsified e-mails and a memo before turning them over to plaintiffs in a nationwide class-action lawsuit — a development that could prompt the judge to find the company liable for tens of millions of dollars in damages.

King County Superior Court Judge Douglass A. North Jr. has previously scolded Best Buy for not being forthcoming with documents related to the case, so last month's revelations about the actions of Minneapolis attorney Timothy Block do not bode well for the company.
The lawsuit, filed in 2003, accuses Best Buy of signing up at least 100,000 customers for trial subscriptions to Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet service from 1999 to 2003, in many cases without their knowledge. Once the trial period ended, the customers began incurring credit card charges they had not approved.

to read the rest of the story follow this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19056379/

NADE Conference 2007

Recently I went to the NADE Conference in Tucson, AZ. It was a week long seminar, with numerous speakers.
Some of the topics discussed were:
Forensic Photography
Print Procees Identification
Art and Artifact Forgery Identification
Decoding Printer information
Forgery Science
ASTM
Paper Analysis
Extreme Grips
Book Smarts

I met a few published document examiners such as Kathie Koppenhaver, Reed Hayes, Marcel Matley, and Dr Brian Found.

What I learned will be invaluable to me in my business of Forensic Document examination.

Reading Between the lines

I recently had the opportunity to talk to a local reporter about my job as a Forensic Document Examiner.

My website is
http://www.forgerydocumentexaminer.com/

Christie & I sat in a coffee shop in Harrisburg, as we spoke. I have attached the article she wrote. I hope you enjoy & learn a little more about Forensic Document examination.

Reading between the Lines

Love of science and attention to detail make Hodges feel at home as a forensic document examiner.

By Christie Barlow (Cbarlow@independent tribune.com)

Most people don't pay attention to the junk email that shows up in their inbox.

But it's a good thing Linda Hodges did.

As a child Hodges spent time taking door handles apart and trying to put them back together. She wanted to figure out how they worked.

"I have to know how everything works," Hodges said. "Science is the unknown, when working with the unknown you have to find stuff out. I think that's the magic of it."

As far back as she can remember, she has always loved science.

She received her degree in electronics and was working as a web designer and newsletter editor before she received a career changing e-mail.

Out of the blue, she got an email about becoming a a forensic document examiner with a phone number to call for more information.

She called, and the job sounded like a fit for her.

Hodges enrolled in the School of Forensic Document examination two year apprenticeship program in 2006, and has been working ever since. The program teaches how to analyze handwriting and recognize characteristics in forgeries, Hodges said.

Looking at things like the angle, size, shape, & fluidity, Hodges can determine whether or not a signature was forged.

"There are certain ticks that people have that no matter how hard they try, they don't go away," Hodges said. "I study their handwriting and know that people have certain quirks."

During the two year apprenticeship, Hodges is required to review handwriting samples and perform various tests.

A test would involve a list of 10 different writing samples.

Each participant would write the same word in two different ways.

The forensic document examiner has to pick which two samples match each participant.

They do so by looking for small quirks and tells people have in their handwriting, Hodges said.

"No signature is exactly the same," Hodges said. "But there are quirks. I've written my name 25 times and it is always the same length; it's always the same height."

Now 6 months into her apprenticeship, Hodges has already started working on cases.

With the help of 15 to 20 other forensic document examiners, Hodges examines wills, marriages licenses, graffiti, threatening letters, forged checks, and any other document that some one has signed.

She compares handwriting samples to an alleged forgery and determines whether or not the signature is legitimate.

"The most interesting thing is looking at the signature and helping people," Hodges said. "Some people just want to know if you can tell the difference, and other people need to clear their name."

With identity theft becoming an increasing problem, there is a need for forensic document examiners, Hodges said.

Her goal is to become one of the top examiners in the area.

She wants to testify about important cases in court, but says she deals with largely with wills and forgeries right now.

"It's exciting," she said. "Every case is different, so it's not monotonous. It's a great career."

Two more cases solved

During our tele conference, Bob Baier went over 2 cases.


We were introduced to measuring the height & width of letters.

Bob is a wonderful FDE who gives praise to others when they do an exceptional job. I look forward to working with Bob and learnign from him.

Document Examiner 007: Victim of Forgery??

An awesome true life story about how a forensic document examiner helped someone find justice.

QDE vs HWA What are the differences?

There is so much confusion on what a Questioned Document Examiner (QDE) does vs what a Handwriting Analyst (HWA) does. The QDE examines documents and verifies if the writing is the same. The HWA looks at handwritng to assess personality traits.

Being they are separate disciplines, the requirements are such that separate training and separate certifications to practice professionally are required. They are not interchangeable skills.

Document examiners do work involving analysis of the physical characteristics of writing. They determine who wrote what.

Document examiners may be called into court to testify as an "expert witness." They can be hired by either side to do that. However, many cases are settled long before they go to court. The important fact is that personality assessment is not a factor in their work.

Handwriting Analyts look at handwriting to find personality traits. The handwriting is analyzed to determine what personality traits show up in a given sample of handwriting. For example a lower case 't' with the bar crossed low on the stem is indicitave of low self esteem. The traits and their meaning are given to the writer.


Some QDE & HWA list themselves as handling both kinds of work. That is ok if they are trained and qualified in both.


QDE work is a science and more highly regarded by the public and is in greater demand because fraud & deceit are at an all time high.

Many feel HWA is is not a science, although many HWA would disagree.

National Handwriting Week - How safe is your mail?

National Handwriting Week
How Safe is Your Mail? by Sandi Basye
(postal fraud, busted by forensic document examiner)

This is National Handwriting Week. To some this may not have much meaning, but to those who have been a victim of fraud and have been redeemed by a handwriting expert the dedication of such a week becomes meaningful. I am one of those redeemed victims. Allow me to explain. Question, how safe is your mail? Fraudulent mail transfers can cause more problems than you could ever imagine. Are you aware that anyone may put in a change of address for you? The post office does not require identification. The change can even be made through the mail or internet. Therefore, you would never be alerted to its existence until after the fact. Being a victim of this action has changed my life forever.


Read the rest of the article here

Ethics as a Document examiner

Wednesday night I was on a teleconference about Ethics in the Forensic Document Examination industry.

Did you know:

A forensic document examiner is expected at all times to be: a non-advocate, non-bias, non-spurious, non-prejudice, impartial, skillful, informed, reputable, truthful, reliable, dedicated, publicized, thick-skinned, dynamic, qualified, an author, studious, competent, with integrity and wisdom, and of course ethical.

That is a lot of resonsibility & takes a lot of morel turpitude. It is almost the same standards by which we expect officers of the law, laywers, & judges to abide by....but that is another debate for another time.

We had a lot of tough questions posed to us, and as a Document examiner, we are held at a very high standard.

A word to everyone: Verify the INTEGRITY and the REPUTATION of anyone before giving them your money.

Discrimination in Handwriting

Tonight a group of Doc examiners got together on a conference call.

We talked about Handwriting Identification and the underlying process in identification. We found out how handwriting identification is taught, & fundamental & significant differences in handwriting.

We also discussed different books to add to our library, and licensing issues for a few states.


Linda