AFDE Symposium 2024

AFDE/NADE Symposium

Staying Current in the Evolving AI and Digital World – and much more

Friday, October 4 – Monday, October 7, 2024 in Brookfield, WI (outside Milwaukee)

DoubleTree by Hilton Milwaukee-Brookfield
18155 W. Bluemound Rd.
Brookfield, WI 53045
AFDE and NADE are meeting together this year for a joint Conference/Symposium. Rooms at the Symposium rate are available Sept. 30-Oct. 9.  When using the link below, after selecting “Book a Room,” on the next screen select “Edit Stay” at the top right of the page to select dates extending into the “shoulder” period.  Reserve by September 13 for the Symposium rate.

Hotel Reservation Link

Download Symposium Registration Form

Learn About Doubletree Milwaukee-Brookfield

Doubletree by Hilton Milwaukee-Brookfield

     The Doubletree is a hotel that turns travel into a human experience.  It starts with a warm chocoate chip cookie – a symbol of our warmth and care for each guest.  The Doubletree by Hilton Milwaukee-Brookfield is only 25 minutes from General Mitchell International Airport (MKE).  This modern, suburban hotel is close to unique shopping, diverse restaurants, and must see attractions.

     Room rates are $129.00 plus taxes per night for King size or two queen size beds, and include a free hot breakfast buffet. The room rates apply three days before and three days after the symposium.  

Hilton Doubletree - Brookfield/Milwaukee

The hotel includes a fitness center, indoor pool and whirlpool, and complimentary internet and parking for all guests.

PROGRAM DETAILS

2024 Conference Chairperson
Patricia Fisher
fisherdoclab@gmail.com

     The 2024 Symposium theme will be “Staying Current in the Evolving AI and Digital World – and much more.” Program details are below. The 2024 AFDE/NADE Symposium will cover a broad range of subjects including the opening presentation on AI an d Handwriting Identification, the latest research on Azheimers and signatures, case studies in digitally altered or fabricated documents, a panel providing “Tips for Testimony,” a presentation on disguised handwriting, poster sessions, and much more.  Details of the confirmed presentations are below.  

UPDATE

     The conference has added additional programs that forensic document examiners will not want to miss. In addition, there will be a buffet breakfast each morning from Friday through Monday. The conference will end at Monday at noon where attendance certificates and thumbdrives will be distributed.
     To make the conference even more meaninful, Carina Fernandes wants attendees to submit examples of closed cases where the signator was diagnosed with Alzheimers or dementia. Please email these to her at carinapfernandes@gmail.com . She will use these samples for discussion. Carina is also bringing some of the latest research coming from the European Network of Forensic Handwriting Experts (EMFHEX), and attendees will be introduced to the latest book on handwriting identification.
     Bruce Pettyjohn, a digital imaging expert, will answer your questions about the scans, PDFs, and other electronically produced documents which contain artifacts and other anomilies you want to know more about. Please submit your examples of closed cases or cases that do not contain identfiying information to Patricia Fisher at fisherdoclab@gmail.com .
     The conference is content heavy from Friday through Sunday. Monday’s session will be organized more as a forum so that attendees can discuss what matters most to them. For example, Lynda Hartwick will moderate a group discussion on Tips for Testimony. One attendee wants to to know how to handle that opposing expert’s purported peer review system that makes his work superior. Mike Weldon will discuss the quandries of handling a signature signed on an iPad using a case study. What can FDEs do with these signatures that are becoming more frequently in question?
What is your greatest challenge right now? Attendees who have specific concerns should send them to Patricia Fisher, the program chair to make sure that you topic is included in the discussion.

Opening Presentation

The Basics of AI and Its Impact on Handwriting Identification
Tatiana Vazulina, Director Product Managment
Parascript Software

     In today’s rapidly evolving world, the pace of artificial intelligence (AI) development has reached unprecedented levels. AI technologies are driving transformative changes across various industries, reshaping how we work, communicate, and live. From healthcare to finance, transportation to entertainment, AI is revolutionizing processes, enhancing efficiency, and unlocking new possibilities. Understanding the power and limitations of AI is crucial for setting realistic expectations and utilizing it efficiently across various tasks. Forensic document examination, like any other field, is not exempt from the need to understand where and how it can benefit from leveraging AI technology.

     Parascript, a leading developer of AI products specializing in pattern recognition, offers innovative solutions for handwriting analysis and fraud detection. In response to a growing interest from forensic experts, Parascript provides a presentation aimed at introducing forensic document examiners to the application of AI technology in their field. The presentation will delve into the fundamentals of AI technology, trace its evolution, and dispel common myths surrounding its capabilities. Participants will gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of AI, with a focus on its efficient application within forensic document examination.

     Through real-world examples, attendees will learn how AI technology can enhance their workflow and improve accuracy in handwriting analysis and fraud detection tasks. Specifically, the workshop will showcase Parascript’s cutting-edge technology, including SignatureXpert.AI, a powerful tool for signature verification, CheckwashAlert.AI, designed to detect alterations in handwritten text indicative of check washing fraud, and CheckStock, a solution for identifying counterfeit checks.

     Finally, the presentation will address such important topics as the distinction between AI-generated and natural handwriting, limitations of AI in document examination, provide insights into the future direction of AI technology, and delineate practical scenarios for its deployment.

Bio
     Dr. Vazulina (or Tanya as she likes to be called) was on the ground floor of developing pattern recognition programs for character recognition of handwriting after she received her Masters of Science degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas in Moscow. Shortly after graduating in the mid-80s, she became a programmer working in the oil and gas industry. She was then invited to work at Paragraph, the first software company to develop character recognition programs for handwriting at a time that both Russia and countries in the western world were sharing scientific information and advances. Later, the department where she worked separated from Paragraph and became the U.S. software company Parascript, focusing on developing software for handwriting recognition. The company then relocated the team of talented engineers to the United States. Tanya has been with the company all these years and currently is the Director of Product Management and Customer Service and a dual citizen of Russia and the U.S. She also has a doctorate from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Business and Managerial Economics.

Workshop

Alzheimer’s Disease and Handwriting –
What does the latest research tell us?
Carina Fernandes
Senior Handwriting and Document Examiner and Laboratory Manager at NCForenses Institute in Porto, Portugal.

Abstract
     With the aging of the population, forensic case work involving handwriting of the elderly, such as signatures written in wills or declarations, is becoming more and more frequent. The analysis of handwriting attributed to the elderly can sometimes pose special challenges for Forensic Handwriting Examiners (FHEs), since changes in handwriting due to illness and/or medication may be frequent. Although the influence of illness on writing has been extensively described in the literature, little attention has been given to handwriting changes due to neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, especially regarding signatures and from a Forensic Handwriting Examiner’s perspective.

     In this context, this workshop will present the most recent developments regarding the effect of Alzheimer’s disease on handwriting, including the impact of this illness on static and dynamic features, based on the latest research using digitally captured signatures. In addition to having hands-on contact with handwriting samples produced by individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, participants can also bring their own cases for group discussion.

     If you have had a case or have a family member or friend with Alzheimer’s disease, and would like to share a writing sample for group discussion, please send it to the presenter ahead of the symposium (ncforenses@gmail.com).

Bio
     Carina Pereira Fernandes is currently completing her PhD on Alzheimers and handwriting. Ms. Fernandes is also a team member of the European Network of Forensic Sciences’ (ENFSI) CERTAIN-FORS Project which is currently developing e-learning tools for training and competency of handwriting experts on the examination of traditional and digitally captured signatures. She was the coordinator of Forensic Document and Handwriting Analysis in the Portuguese Association of Forensic Sciences until 2020. Her research interests include graphopathopology (with the focus on Alzheimer’s Disease), neuroscience and digitally captured signatures. Ms. Fernandes also serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Forensic Document Examination.

Current Techniques for the Examination of Inks, Paper and Toner
Al Lyter, III, PhD

Abstract
      This presentation will inform attendees about the materials present in documents, the manufacturers’ processing of documents, the appropiate examinations and methodolgies employed to examine documents.
      The materials that will be discussed will include writing ink, paper, inkjet ink and toner. The techniques will include microscopy, ultraviolet spectrophotometry, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography/mass spectrmetry, scanning electon microscopy and optial profilometry.
      Attendees will gain an appreciation of the available examination techniques and the appropriate conclusions derived from these utilizing these techniques.

Bio
      For over 35 years, Al Lyter has been a practicing document examiner specializing in the chemical and physical examinaton of questioned documents and the materials used in the preparation of questioned documents. These materials include paper, ink, carbon, toner, and printing ink. He has presented his expertise at numerous professional organizations and has served as an expert in courts both in the U.S.A. and internationally.

Determining the Approximate Date of a Questioned Document Based on a Paper Fiber Comparison
Walter Rantanen and J. Michael Weldon, D-BFDE

Abstract
      The case centered on an assertion by the Plaintiff, a recently terminated employee, that an undated document in his employee file was not in the file in the late 1990’s when his employment began, but was placed there in 2018. The file also contained other documents that were dated in the late 1990’s. Defendant, a Texas employer, asserted that the undated document was in the original file. The employer who had possession of the original file provided it for analysis.
     The papers were examined with Ultraviolet lighting techniques, removing paper samples, and applying paper chemistry analysis in the laboratory to establish the likely date of the document in question. Based on the testing, the paper fibers in the 1990 questioned document matched those of the other contemporaneous documents in the file. These paper fibers were different from the paper fibers in the later documents.

Bio
     Walter Rantanen is the foremost forensic paper expert in the country. For over 40 years, Walter has analyzed all aspects of paper and has provided classes and seminars on the subject.

     J. Michael Weldon is a Board Certified (BFDE) Forensic Document Examiner with a private practice in Denton, Texas. Michael has been a Research Sponsor for the University of North Texas Forensic Program from 2004 to present. He also served as a Professor for the European Forensic Institute on Forensic Document Examination.

ENFHEX Research Projects: From the Best Practice Manual to the Examination of Digitally Captured Signatures
Dorijan Keržan,  Tomasz Dziedzic and Carina Fernandes

Abstract
The European Network of Forensic Handwriting Experts (ENFHEX) has undertaken several research projects aimed at helping Forensic Handwriting Experts face the challenges of the digital world and to promote proficiency, as well as the implementation of best practices in this forensic field. This presentation will focus on the research projects and activities developed by ENFHEX, including the latest version of the Best Practice Manual for the Forensic Examination of Handwriting, the training and competence assessment for Forensic Handwriting Experts in both traditional handwriting examination and in the analysis of digitally captured signatures, and the results of the STEFA G8 project on the examination of digitally captured signatures.

Bio

Dorijan Keržan, PhD,  is the current chair of the European Network of Forensic Sciences (ENFSI) and the coordinator of the latest research project. He has been involved with ENFSI activities since 1997 as a member of the Handwriting Expert Working Group (ENFHEX)  and member of the ENFSI Board.  He teaches at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security of the University of Maribor where he is habilitated as a professor adjunct in Criminology since 2022.  He has presented his work at 21 scientific conferences, published two books, 18 scientific papers and 14 book reviews on various topics. He is an assigned court expert in the Republic ofSlovenia and has prepared several expert opinons for the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Thomasz Dziedzic, PhD, expert in the field of forensic handwriting and document examination at the Institute of Forensic Research in Krakow, Poland. Chairman of the European Network of Handwriting Examiners (ENFHEX), a working group of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI). From 2018 to 2020 the Lead of a team of international researchers who developed the first Best Practice Manual for forensic examination of Digitally Captured Signatures (DCS). Author of research papers and conference presentations, a large part of which was dedicated to DCS, and a trainer in this field. Member of the Advisory Committee for Assessments at the Netherlands Register of Court Experts (NRGD).
Orcid profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1942-6007

     Carina Fernandes Forensic Handwriting and Document Examiner, as well as Laboratory Manager, at NCForenses Institute (Associated Member of ENFHEX). Team member of the European Network of Forensic Sciences’ (ENFSI) CERTAIN-FORS Project, which is currently developing e-learning tools for training and competency of handwriting experts on the examination of traditional and digitally captured signatures. Former team member of ENFSI’s STEFA G8 project on “Forensic Examination of Digitally Captured Signatures and Handwritten Entries”. Coordinator of the field of Forensic Document and Handwriting Analysis in the Portuguese Association of Forensic Sciences until 2020. Ms. Fernandes also serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Forensic Document Examination.
Orcid profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-5419 

Line Quality and Alterations in Copied or Digitally Processed Documents
Tamara Kaiden and Robin Williams, D-BFDE

Abstract
    This presentation will combine by example and description a variety of topics related to line quality in handwriting and printed text in copies and digitally processed documents that will include photocopies, scanned documents, and PDF documents that have been altered.
     The discussion will illustrate unusual backgrounds that are outside of the printed text and what the line quality in handwriting on PDF documents may indicate. An example of digital erasure marks on PDFs will be described followed by a demonstration of how digital erasing is accomplished using scanned documents.
     The presenters will discuss and demonstrate how the digital quality of two or more signatures on the same page of a document with a questioned signature may demonstrate evidence of electronically transferred signatures from different sources.
     Depending on the copier used to make multiple generations of copies of a document, an erroneous conclusion can be reached by a document examiner. The presenters will demonstrate the effects that specific printers have on line quality and demonstrate how specific copiers can create different outcomes when making generational copies of documents.

Bio
     Robin Williams holds a Bachelor of Science degree in the Administration of Justice from American University, a Masters of Forensic Sciences Degree from Georgetown Washington University, a Masters of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin (Whitewater). He is a member of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners holding many offices over the years. He is also Board Certified with the Board of Forensic Document Examiners. He has been both a full and part time police science instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay and Blackhawk Technical College in Jaynesville, as well as an instructor in the Administration of Justice at Marian College of Fond du Lac.
     Tamara Kaiden is an Associate of OMNI Document Examinations in DePere, Wisconsin. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northeastern Illinois with a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies. Her work in commercial advertising and design have proven to be of special benefit in preparing visual illustrations for court exhibits. She is the Membership Chair for AFDE and has trained as a Forensic Document Examiner under Robin Williams.,

A Protocol for Examination of Anonymous Writing
Emily Will, D-BFDE 

Abstract
     While there are standards in the field of forensic document examination addressing topics such as “Examination of Handwritten Items,” “Examination of Typewritten Items,”  Examination of Documents for Alterations,”  “Terminology for the Expressing Conclusions of Forensic Document Examiners,”  there are no standards that expressly relate to Examination of Anonymous Writing. 

     There are sufficient and significant differences in the examination of anonymous writing to warrant specific guidelines.  In this presentation a protocol is demonstrated, and the attendees will be encouraged to comment upon and add to this protocol.  Cases will be presented that clarify why this protocol is needed.

Bio
      Emily Will is a board certified (BFDE) forensic document examiner in private practice in Raleigh, North Carolina with 35+ years of experience. She is an active member of AFDE and NADE, and a past director and past president of the Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board (FSAB). Emily served on the NIST Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Handwriting Examination and is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Forensic Document Examination (JFDE). , D-BFDE

Disguised Writing – A Complex Case
Adele Thonn, CDE 

Abstract
      Approximately 100 anonymous notes were distributed over the course of seven years in a small town in northern Louisiana. There were several suspects, some from the same family. Various letter forms often illustrated in texts on handwriting identification were used. To avoid detection, the writings were also written on varying substrates or surfaces. A meticulous analysis of each letter form on every anonymous note revealed the writer’s natural habits, resulting in an identification.

Bio
     Adele Thonn is a certified member of the National Association of Forensic Document Examiners (NADE) with over eleven years of experience in the field. Ms. Thonn has been court qualified in fourteen different jurisdictions in Louisiana, including the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana. She has presented on document examination to the Louisiana Forgery and Fraud Conference, the Louisiana Association of Defense Lawyers and for NADE.n

The Unmasking of The Masked Ball
Joseph G. Barabe

Abstract
     Two works of German Expressionists purchased by the client at the same time were of questioned authenticity. The first, a Self Portrait sketch, attributed to Lionel Feininger, was signed and dated 1919; the second, a signed but undated Masked Ball by Emil Nolde, possibly from his “unpainted paintings” period during WWII, during which he was forbidden to paint by the Nazi regime. Both were suspected to be forgeries, as both were acquired at very low cost from a gallery that failed shortly after the sale in 1978. The Feininger was found to contain anachronistic materials and was quickly concluded to be a forgery. The Nolde was more ambiguous; not only was it undated, but all of the materials identified were available during WWII, in 1978 and later. But there was something troubling about the signature. This presentation will discuss the process of uncovering the mystery of this signature and its implications for the possible authenticity – or lack thereof – of this painting.

Bio
    Joseph Barabe studied analytical microscopy under Dr. Walter C. McCrone and, after retiring from McCrone Associates in Westmont, Illinois as Senior Research Microscopist and Director of Scientific Imaging, established Barabe & Associates LLC, specializing in materials analysis of art, historical objects and documents, from ancient to contemporary. Joseph is a frequent presenter at AFDE and NADE conferences and has also contributed significantly to the Journal of Forensic Document Examination and other academic publications. He teaches workshops on microscopy, scientific imaging, artist pigment identification and printing process identification at the Hooke College of Applied Sciences in Westmont, Illinois.

Poster Session

An Adobe Photoshop Tool to Check for Electronic Alterations
Rima Askurava

Abstract
     One of the first steps a document examiner will want to take in examining for an altered or fabricated document is to obtain the electronic files of the originals or the best copies of the evidence.  Once the electronic files are received, the PDF can be imported into Adobe Photoshop and analyzed with a special function that separates the images from the text when the layers are still present in the electronic file.  The challenge is to determine whether the separated images are the result of the defects of the Optical Character Recognition software or are actual alterations of the document.

     This poster session will demonstrate both end results.

Bio

     Rima Askurava was certified as a document document examiner and handwriting expert by the Minister of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Georgia.  She is currently a U.S. citizen working as an Associate Document Examiner for Fisher Forensic Document Laboratory, Inc.

Poster Session

Adobe Photoshop as an Ink Discrimination Tool
Kurt Kuhn, Forensic Document Examiner

Abstract
    It is not always possible to take equipment into the field to do ink examinations. This Poster Session will illustrate two applications that have proven to be effective in using Adobe Photoshop as an ink discrimination tool – Hue/Saturation and LAB Color. These examinations can be conducted in both the laboratory and in the field. Multiple examples from actual case studies are included that demonstrate the results after using these two techniques. The results were also compared to the results on a video spectral comparator. Both methods successfully discriminated inks.

Bio

    Kurt Kuhn began his career in law enforcement in 1976 as a fingerprint expert. In 1985, he began a three year training program as a document examiner under the direction of the document examiner at the Beverly Hills Police Department and document examiners at the Los Angeles 
Sheriff’s Department. He also attended the Secret Service’s program on forensic document examination. With over 47 years’ experience as a fingerprint examiner and 39 years as a forensic document examiner (25.5 years in law enforcement), Kurt has provided expert testimony in excess of 450 occasions including 150 testimonies as a forensic document examiner. He has testified in numerous California courts, we well as in U.S. District Court; U.S. Tax Court; U.S. Immigration Court; and the Dallas Texas County Court. 

Double Trouble:  Direct and Cross Examination by an Attorney who is also a Subject Matter Expert
Andrew Sulner, MSFS, JD, D-BFDE

Abstract
     Most testifying experts have had the experience of being left “high and dry” by the attorney presenting them in court because that attorney lacked background and understanding in the subject matter, did not remember what was discussed with the expert in pre-trial preparation, or was not willing to take direction from the non-attorney expert.  Combine this with the frustration of watching an attorney ineffectively cross examine an opposing expert, failing to ask follow up questions of his/her own expert, or allowing nonsense testimony – again due to lack of background in the subject matter.  How much better would it be if the attorney were himself/herself a subject matter expert – able to bring out the best in your testimony and the worst in the opponent’s?  That is what this presentation will highlight.

Bio

     Andrew Sulner, MSFS, JD, D-BFDE is a board certified forensic document examiner and attorney who earned a Master of Science degree in Forensic Science and a Juris Doctorate degree (with Honors) from George Washington University. He has over 40 years of experience in examining questioned and disputed documents on behalf of major law firms, banks, insurance companies and financial institutions, as well as federal and state law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Mr. Sulner, who is also a certified fraud examiner and former state prosecutor, has been consulted nationally and internationally as an expert in determining the authenticity of documents, and his testimony as a forensic document examiner has been favorably cited in numerous federal and state court decisions. Mr. Sulner’s state-of-the-art forensic document laboratory is located in the heart of New York City.

     In addition to being a Diplomate of the Board of Forensic Document Examiners (BFDE) and its current President, Mr. Sulner is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Academy) and a member of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners (AFDE), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and the New York, Florida, California and District of Columbia Bars.  Mr. Sulner is a past Chair of the Jurisprudence Section of the Academy and was the recipient of the 2014 Kenneth S. Field Award for Outstanding Service to the Academy and the 2023 Harold A. Feder Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Scientific Jurisprudence. 

     Mr. Sulner has authored numerous publications and presentations on the subject of forensic document examination, and he is a frequent speaker and lecturer at universities and continuing education seminars sponsored by forensic science, legal, judicial, and other professional membership associations throughout the United States.  His 87-page 2018 Seton Hall Law Review article has been favorably reviewed and cited by the bench and bar.  Mr. Sulner has been retained as a forensic document examiner in many high-profile cases, and more recently, he achieved a successful verdict as lead trial counsel in a California case involving conflicting opinions of opposing handwriting experts concerning the authenticity of a series of questioned signatures.

You Thought It Was Going To Be A Routine Case And Then…..
Graziella Pettinati, CDE

Abstract
     Case studies that first seemed to be routine, but turned into uncovering amazing discoveries will be demonstrated along with the techniques (VSC, ESDA, etc.) and skills (research in archives) used to resolve them – presenting purported historical documents to prove his native Indian heritage, a “hidden” signature on an NCR copy that revealed parts of genuine signatures, a copy of a signature made with a bad instrument that fooled the opposing expert, and others.

Bio

     Graziella Pettinati received her B.A. in Molecular Biology from the University of Quebec in Montreal. After 16 years of teaching biology and chemistry, she made a 180 degree turn after the college where she was teaching closed. She opened her first handwriting business after developing a special expertise in graphic gesture, writing and drawing. Her interest in handwriting evolved into developing her expertise as in forensic document examination. Since 2001, she has been accepted as a handwriting expert/forensic document examiner before the civil, criminal, administrative, and arbitration courts in Canada. She was also nominated by a judge as an expert by the Court of Quebec. Ms. Pettinati was certified in 2008 by the National Association of Document Examiner and has been recertified in 2013, 2018, and 2023. 

Case Studies in Electronically Altered Documents
M. Patricia Fisher, D-BFDE

Abstract
     Forensic document examiners’ caseloads include an increasing number of documents that are potentially altered electronically or with graphics software programs. Copies, scans, faxes, and PDFs are frequently replacing original documents. Attendees will learn how to use a simple technique in Adobe Photoshop as a first step with electronically created documents to identify potential alterations. Cases will be demonstrated that resulted in different outcomes captured by the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software or graphics program software, the software that interpret the printing and handwriting on the document. Cases will be demonstrated that show conclusive evidence of an alteration along with cases where the OCR program created the potential alterations.

Bio

     M. Patricia Fisher, a BFDE Board Certified Document Examiner, has been in private practice full time since 1981. To date she has testified in over 300 court proceedings in both state and federal courts. She was the Editor of the Journal of Forensic Document Examination from 2005 through 2017 and is currently on the Editorial Board. She received her Masters’ Degree in Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She also has a California Secondary Teaching Credential and a California Lifetime Teaching Credential.

Challenges of Examining Signatures Signed on Cell Phones, IPads, and Electronic Pads
J. Michael Weldon, D-BFDE

Abstract
     Signing with a stylus or a finger on an electronic pad, cell phone or on an iPad presents special challenges for the forensic document examiner. If there are one or two questioned signatures and limited known signatures, the document examiner must necessarily let his client know that this is not sufficient information to form an opinion. But what happens if there are multiple reliable known signatures also on electronic pads, cell phones, or iPads? The presenter will demonstrate a case study where the signature was signed on an iPad for attendees to discuss whether this is an assignment a document examiner can undertake and under what circumstances.

Bio

     J. Michael Weldon is a Board Certified (BFDE) Forensic Document Examiner with a private practice in Denton, Texas. Michael has been a Research Sponsor for the University of North Texas Forensic Program from 2004 to present. He also served as a Professor for the European Forensic Institute on Forensic Document Examination.

Ask the Expert – A Clinic on Better Understanding Digitally Altered or Fabricated Documents
Bruce Pettyjohn, Digital Imaging Expert

Abstract
     Puzzled by all the different variations on the copies, PDF’s, and other hard copies of electronically or digitally created documents? Why do some areas of the document show more speckling than others? Is this significant? Learn about the mechanics of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software program and how these programs affect the documents you are examining. What about the metadata? Is there anything that document examiners can learn from the metadate without being a computer forensic expert? To make this presentation especially helpful to the attendees, submit examples of documents that you have questions about. The digital imaging expert will assist in helping attendees better understand the results and the technology behind the results. Just make sure that any identifying information on the document is redacted unless the case has gone to trial and a judgment was entered.

Bio

     Bruce Pettyjohn received his BSEE in electronic engineering from the University of Washington in 1969. Since that time, he has worked on almost every aspect of the digital imaging process including developing de-speckling software to eliminate the artifacts around printing and writing. In the 1980s, he created and wrote most of Microsoft Windows image processing software to prepare a fax for optical character recognition. During the 80’s, he also designed and worked to develop a non-invasive medical analysis system that used high resolution scans of the hand for an expert system for diagnosis. At the same time, he worked with the initial Hewlett Packard Scanner Development team to improve the scanner functionality. He is currently the architect of the software for online appointment scheduling. Mr. Pettyjohn works with Fisher Forensic Document Laboratory, Inc. as a consultant on digitally processed documents.

Error Reduction and Testing Procedures for Forensic Handwriting Examiners (video)
Nicole Crown, MSc

Abstract
     This presentation describes the work of a team of forensic handwriting examiners tasked with producing tools for error reduction in case work and proficiency tests for FHEs in the course of the CERTAIN-FORS project.
Error mitigation is discussed on multiple levels, addressing, on one hand, aspects of quality management, such as context information, blinded peer review etc, but also addressing the individual responsibility of the examiner. To ensure completeness of findings and avoid omission errors, a checklist covering all the examination steps and was designed by the team.
The proficiency tests the team produced are presented in the form of packages in compliance with the ENFSI-requirement for a definition of ranges of expected answers.

Bio

     Nicole Crown, MSc obtained an MSc in forensic sciences from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland in 2001 and currently works as a senior handwriting examiner in the Zurich Forensic Science Institute for civil and penal cases. She has 18 years of experience in the field of forensic handwriting examination, two of those in the Questioned Document Unit, Western Cape, South Africa. Nicole has been a member of the Steering Committee of the European Network of Forensic Handwriting Experts (ENFHEX) since 2015 in various roles, with current responsibility in the areas of education and training.

The Examination of Questioned Surety Aerial Maps (SAM) and Farm Service Agency Maps (FSA) to Undisputed Maps
Lynda Hartwick, D-BFDE

Abstract
     The intricate task of comparing known farm maps used for crop dusting to questioned maps to determine alteration in any way, e.g. erasures, correction materials, photoshop, or any other type of manipulation. The examiner dealt with inconsistencies such as differing styles of header and footer, shading, fonts, overspray of ink, and a myriad of concerns during the examination process.

Bio

     Lynda Hartwick is a Board Certified (BFDE) Forensic Document Examiner with a private practice in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. Lynda is a retired police officer with a 27-year career with the St. Louis County Police Department, which included time as a crime scene investigator. Her training as a document examiner includes a two week training session presented by the United States Secret Service at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glencoe, Georgia.

Tips for Testimony
Lynda Hartwick, D-BFDE, Moderator

Abstract
     Are there questions you have been dying to ask to help improve your testimony, handle an opposing expert, or respond effectively when opposing counsel asks you specific questions? For example, how often have you been asked if you are being paid? One of our attendees unhesitatingly answered this question in a recent jury trial: “I certainly hope so!” The jury laughed, and the opposing counsel immediately changed the line of questioning.
     You never know when this might be the perfect response in one of your cases. Please take advantage of the cumulative years of experience of experts attending the conference and experts who want to share their many years of experience with attendees. Attendees are requested to email their questions to Lynda Hartwick at DOCSNDISPT@aol.com., 

     We hope you will join us for this very interesting and worthwhile program.