Huntington High School, Huntington, WV

FORENSICS 101

Review Questions

1)What is a questioned document? Describe at least one example of something that might be a questioned document.

2. What is an exemplar? What are the best types of exemplars?

3. What are natural variations? Describe how these may happen.

4. How are stamped signatures different from written signatures?’

5. What are some of the typescript machines that document examiners may have to investigate? Choose one of these machines and describe what document examiners may look for when comparing the machine to a questioned document.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Why are questioned documents important in forensic science? What is one example of a situation where a questioned document might be an important part of a criminal case?

2. What are some of the ways that a document examiner might try to match a questioned document to a specific typewriter? What aspects might they look at?

3. Imagine that you have been asked to determine whether a signature on a check is authentic or a forgery. What steps would you take in doing this? What aspects would you examine?

4. Imagine that you have been asked to determine whether a will written fifty years ago is authentic or a modern-day forgery. How would you go about doing this? What aspects would you examine to help you make your determination?

5. A law enforcement agent is in charge of getting a writing sample from an uncooperative suspect. The agent puts the suspect in a comfortable room and has the person choose from a bunch of pencils and ink pens. The agent takes the questioned document and dictates the information to the suspect, having the