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Important Facts about Forensic Document Examiner
Courts of law are the legal organs entrusted by the constitution of the land to administer justice. The court arrives at a court decision by giving parties an opportunity to present their mater and evidence in court. The individual who presents a mater in the court has to prove their case. This can be the state in a criminal matter, an individual, or a firm in a civil matter. The accused person or the defendant, on the other hand, have to legally dispute the accusation leveled against them. Some of the evidence presented in court as evidence in a variety of documents. The court may require expert witnesses to examine and determine the validity of such documents.
When there is doubt concerning the authenticity of any document such as a receipt, a letter, a check, a title deed, a logbook or a share certificate, the legitimacy has to be determined. A forensic document examiner is an expert who legally validates the genuineness of a document. Such experts should be trained, experienced, and competent at their job. Relevant authorities should equally register them. Although most of the forensic document examiners are expert witnesses in court, they work in other fields as well. Both government and private sectors need the services of these professionals.
In the past, forensic document examiners mainly examined handwritings in documents and letters to determine who generated such documents and if they were authentic. This is especially the case if fraud is committed using these fraudulent documents. However, currently, many criminal elements generate many typed fake documents. The work of the document examiner is now more technical and has extended to examining the type of paper used, the ink, the typewriter, and printer used.
The forensic document examiners use different techniques to determine the soundness of a document. One of the techniques used in sample analysis. This analysis determines if the same person who has presented handwritten samples generated the document in question. Document examiners use a scientific approach to arrive at their conclusion. Some of the documents examined include signatures on contracts, wills, and deeds. Equally, the examiner may also examine anonymous letters or threats to determine if the writing matches that of a specific suspect. The objective of such an examination is to determine that a specific person-generated such a document.
The examiners can also determine the age of the document. A document examiner can verify or dispute the age of a document by examining the ink and paper used. Remarkably, the examiner can also study the ink, machine ribbon, or paper used to produce a document to determine the origin of such a document. Unknown to many people different machines imprint documents differently and this may act as a fingerprint to such a machine. An examiner can study a document and determine if it was generated using the machines that are available in a particular office or institution. Such examiners also look out for any handwritten or typed alterations on documents. Such alteration is carried out with an intention to commit a forgery.