The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Document Analysis
Handwriting Comparisons Handwriting is an individual characteristic First place to look is at the general style Children practice by copying a standard form Two methods taught to school children
General Style Young children may have very similar writing because of this copying from a template At this point it is a conscious process Over time it becomes subconscious and habitual Shapes and patterns emerge creating individuality
Variations in General Style Angularity Slope Speed Pressure Letter spacing Word spacing Relative dimensions of letters Connections Pen movements Writing skill Finger dexterity
Other Individual Characteristics Arrangement of writing on paper can be as individualistic as the writing itself Examples Margins Spacing Crowding Insertions Alignment Spelling Punctuation Phraseology Grammer
Document Comparisons Requires a reasonable amount of known samples and questioned documents to make an identification Difficulty increases: With fewer words attempt to disguise handwriting Usually happens with notes meant to threaten or be obscene
Comparison continued… It is easy to disguise writing with a few words but becomes increasingly difficult with each additional word written. Drugs and alcohol can alter writing beyond recognition Age will also have an affect but only over long periods of time
Collection of an exemplar An exemplar is an authentic example used for comparison purposes Should be as similar as possible to questioned documents Use same writing implement and paper Should have some of the same words and combinations of letters Suspect should not be shown the questioned document No help with any kind of grammar should be given Enough samples should be taken to ensure natural subconscious variations will appear in writing