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26 Am. J. Trial Advoc. 65 (2002-2003)
A Guide for Submitting Questioned Documents and Handwriting Evidence

handle is hein.journals/amjtrad26 and id is 73 raw text is: A Guide for Submitting Questioned
Documents and Handwriting Evidence
Steven G. Drexlert
Abstract
Steven Drexler, a noted questioned documents and handwriting
examiner, outlines in this Article the appropriate procedures for
attorneys to employ upon analyzing and using document evidence in their
cases.
Introduction
Questioned document and handwriting evidence is most often
associated with white collar crimes such as forgery, but by no means
is it so restricted.' Handwriting is commonly associated with suicides,
bank fraud, false identification, extortion, and drug trafficking.2 For
example, handwriting evidence has played an important role in tracking
and documenting the activities of homicide suspects before or after the
incident (i.e., motel receipts, credit card purchases, weapons purchases,
documenting aliases, previous threatening correspondence).3 Therefore,
t B.S. (1980), University of Central Florida. The author is a questioned documents
and handwriting examiner with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in
Birmingham, Alabama, and is certified by the American Board of Document Examiners.
The author would like to thank Dr. Richard Roper for his assistance in preparing
this manuscript.
' See, e.g., United States v. Johnson, No. 00-50478,2002 WL 44242, at *3 (9th Cir.
Jan. 10, 2002) (holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in the
admittance of the testimony of the handwriting expert that determined the identity of
the handwriting on fraudulent 1-94 forms in an alien smuggling scheme); State v. Forbes,
74 Wash. 2d 420, 424, 445 P.2d 204, 207 (1968) (holding that the trial court did not
err in admitting the testimony ofa handwriting expert with the opinion that the defendant
forged the checks).
2 See, e.g., United States v. Greiser, 502 F.2d 1295, 1298, 1300 (9th Cir. 1974)
(holding that the trial court did not err in the admission of the testimony of an expert
in handwriting analysis thereby affirming the extortion conviction).
' Commonwealth v. Buckley, 410 Mass. 209, 213, 571 N.E.2d 609, 612 (1991)
(using handwriting samples to determine the defendant wrote the note left at the murder
scene).

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