Can Handwriting Be Used as Legal Evidence in Court?
Absolutely!
In fact, the entire industry called forensic document examination is about using handwriting, as well as handwritten items and documents, as legal evidence in a court of law, criminal courts, and civil courts.
In most of the cases that we work with and our team of people at Handwriting Experts Incorporated, we work with civil cases, legal cases, and criminal cases, trying to find the truth of a document.
We try to answer the question- was the document signed by who it says it was?
Did the person who signed intentionally go into that agreement or was the document or signature altered?
The document and a lot of our cases revolved around the handwriting because original handwriting in the form of wet ink is physical evidence that a human being was present with the document in question.
We have to determine if the specific human whose signature is on the document actually signed it, or did the maid sign it? Did the ex-wife sign it?
Did the angry caretaker sign it and cut everyone else out of the will because she doesn’t want to come out of the house? (Sounds odd, but it is actually a very common story we encounter in these cases.)
This is what handwriting experts like me determine.
Can handwriting samples be used in court?
If you have any piece of evidence, you can use that in court.
Most legal experts are hired to be professional examiners and interpreters of a specific form of evidence-
E.g., blood spatter experts look at blood spatter patters, ballistic experts analyze the trajectory and position of gunfire, and legal handwriting experts look at documents to determine who wrote them.
After they turn in their examination, if the case goes to trial, these legal experts can be called in to testify and tell the court their findings.
They will be called in by the attorneys of the side that hired them to break down the results of their analysis to the court. They explain what they noticed in the evidence and how that led to their expert opinion.
However, every judge and every attorney has the opportunity to try to get evidence excluded.
There’s no guarantee that a piece of handwriting or a note or a tile that you found in your glove box can be admitted as evidence for the court to see and evaluate. It is the lawyer’s job to get it into evidence.
If the evidence is not allowed in court, then the legal expert who examined the evidence will likely not be needed for trial.
How long have legal handwriting experts been allowed to testify in court?
As far as the testimony of a certified court-qualified forensic examiner, it goes all the way back to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.
The interesting story about that case is that I was involved in a new investigation on the Discovery Channel of the famous kidnapping and national search for Charles Lindbergh’s son, a case which occurred in the 1930s.
The grandson of the first cop on the scene had reopened the case, and the network had decided to film a special about the story.
In the re-investigation, I re-examined a lot of handwriting that had been used as evidence in the original case.
This included both analyzing the suspect’s handwriting in the kidnapping or ransom note, as well as analyzing the teller’s handwriting on the check that was made to the bank by the kidnappers after they received the ransom.
Around 2015, there was a huge break in the investigation when we were able to track down the teller and the person that endorsed the check using some of the deposit slips.
We were able to ascertain that the kidnapping wasn’t committed by just Hauptmann, who was initially caught, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death; Hauptman in fact had several accomplices who were not prosecuted.
We also discovered that the accomplices were all associated with the Nazi party. Fascinating story.
Long story short, the answer is, of course.
If you are in a situation where you’ve got a will and testament of a family member that has a signature that looks nothing like theirs, you have to spend the money to hire an examiner.
You can’t hire graphologists. You can’t ask your neighbors. Often people call and say, “Well, all my friends are positive.”
Unfortunately, I don’t listen to all your friends, and neither will a judge or a jury. They haven’t been to court 135 times.
So, you have to hire a professional.
How much does a handwriting expert cost?
It’s a couple thousand dollars minimum.
A lot of our cases end up being $5,000 to $12,000 because you have to go look at a document in a microscope and process the photos. You have to do a lot of research. Then you got a really long report.
A lot of our reports are immediate pages, which basically state, “Here’s the narrative. Here’s how this document came to be and how certain we are about this based on the strength of the evidence provided.”
Can a handwriting expert prove something is a forgery?
We tend to overuse the word “forgery.” It’s actually a crime that must be designated as such by a judge.
In legal reports and in trials, handwriting experts generally say if a signature or signage is authentic and not authentic.
If the judge agrees the signature is not authentic, they would be the one to say, “Hey, we think that’s not authentic. We think you did it, and therefore we’re actually charging you with the crime of forgery on your grandma’s will.”
(This actually has happened in trials here in Texas.)
So in a way, handwriting experts can’t prosecute a forgery, but they can help determine on by catching or identifying an inauthentic signature. The DAS will prosecute based on the determination or expertise of a handwriting expert.
So this is all just a long way of saying that yes, handwriting can be used in court?
Pretty much. Handwriting can be used in court, it is used in court, and it is why all of our graduates at the international school make $100,000 or more a year- because it’s useful.
It solves a big problem, and it solves a problem that people are willing to pay for.
Because when someone’s about to take your house or someone’s about to take your million-dollar inheritance, you pay the money for experts and attorneys to get you out of hot water.
My name’s Bart Baggett. I can help you, or one of our team members can help you; give us a call. Our website is
handwritingexpertusa.com. We can refer you to an expert in your area.
We have a team of experts around the country that I personally trained. I highly recommend it, and depending on whether you have a million-dollar case or you’re just fighting over a pickup truck, someone can help you out.
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FAQ
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a forensic handwriting expert?
A forensic handwriting expert, also called a forensic document examiner, analyzes handwriting and signatures to determine authenticity. They are frequently called to testify in both civil and criminal court cases, helping judges and juries understand whether a document or signature is genuine.
How much does a forensic handwriting expert cost?
Retaining a forensic handwriting expert typically starts at a few thousand dollars. Many cases range from $5,000 to $12,000, depending on the complexity of the document examination, the number of specimens reviewed, and the length of the formal written report required.
Can a handwriting expert prove a signature is forged?
Handwriting experts determine whether a signature is authentic or not authentic — they do not legally declare forgery. That designation is made by a judge. The expert provides professional findings; prosecutors and attorneys then act on those findings to pursue criminal charges if warranted.
How long have handwriting experts been used in court?
Forensic handwriting experts have testified in court since at least the 1930s. One of the earliest and most prominent examples is the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case, where handwriting analysis of ransom notes and bank deposit slips played a central role in the investigation and trial.
