Questioning the Reliability of Some Expert Reports Concerning the Age (Date) of Handwritten Entries

Abstract

The paper analyzes several expert reports to illustrate the principal sources of errors that lead to unreliable conclusions when the examiner attempts to determine the age (date) of a handwritten entry using unvalidated techniques. This work is meant to aid forensic examiners in responding to queries about the validity of document examinations conducted by private service providers

Keywords

• questioned document examination
• age of handwritten entries
• expert errors
• unreliable conclusions