How Rile & Hicks can help with your case
Examination of questioned documents
We do evaluations of questioned documents involving signatures, handwriting, ink, paper, and printing processes, on documents such as wills, trusts, business contracts, leases, deeds of trust, promissory notes, stock certificates, prenuptial agreements, medical charts, dental charts, anonymous notes, ballots, loan documents, etc.
Examples of typical questions raised in cases submitted for examination to Rile and Hicks include:
Wills and Trusts -- Is the signature genuine? Have pages been substituted? Who wrote the interlineations making changes to the terms?
Leases and Contracts -- Are the signatures genuine? Have pages or text been substituted or removed? Was a page signed in blank?
Medical Records -- Have entries been added after the fact? Have pages been removed or rewritten and substituted? Who wrote certain entries in the chart? Is a specific signature genuine or a forgery?
Anonymous Notes or Writing -- Which employee wrote a threatening note? Who wrote which entries on a multi-page document with several writers?
Ideally, the original questioned documents will be produced in our laboratory for examination.
Our office and laboratory are set up in such a way that the examination in the laboratory may be viewed through a window from an adjoining room. We do not do any destructive testing.
If a will is lodged with the court, it is frequently necessary to obtain a court order for a document examiner to have access to it. The document examiner will examine and scan the original for comparison to genuine exemplars. However, if the question involves differentiation of inks or whether a page was substituted, the original will must be produced in our laboratory, as our equipment cannot be transported.
Examples of typical questions raised in cases submitted for examination to Rile and Hicks include:
Wills and Trusts -- Is the signature genuine? Have pages been substituted? Who wrote the interlineations making changes to the terms?
Leases and Contracts -- Are the signatures genuine? Have pages or text been substituted or removed? Was a page signed in blank?
Medical Records -- Have entries been added after the fact? Have pages been removed or rewritten and substituted? Who wrote certain entries in the chart? Is a specific signature genuine or a forgery?
Anonymous Notes or Writing -- Which employee wrote a threatening note? Who wrote which entries on a multi-page document with several writers?
Ideally, the original questioned documents will be produced in our laboratory for examination.
Our office and laboratory are set up in such a way that the examination in the laboratory may be viewed through a window from an adjoining room. We do not do any destructive testing.
If a will is lodged with the court, it is frequently necessary to obtain a court order for a document examiner to have access to it. The document examiner will examine and scan the original for comparison to genuine exemplars. However, if the question involves differentiation of inks or whether a page was substituted, the original will must be produced in our laboratory, as our equipment cannot be transported.
Reports/Declarations
After the examination has been conducted and the observations and opinions discussed with the client, a detailed illustrated report can be prepared. If requested, the report can be done in the form of a declaration to be filed with the court.
While we can do an examination of a photocopy if original documents are unavailable, it will result in a qualified opinion being expressed in a report.
Also, please note that no forensic document examiner can verify as genuine the signature on a photocopy, due to the ease with which genuine signatures can be manipulated onto a copy through the use of copiers and computer software.
Rile & Hicks uses a well-recognized 9-level scale, ranging from Identification to Elimination, for expressing opinions on handwriting. A copy of this scale can be provided upon request.
While we can do an examination of a photocopy if original documents are unavailable, it will result in a qualified opinion being expressed in a report.
Also, please note that no forensic document examiner can verify as genuine the signature on a photocopy, due to the ease with which genuine signatures can be manipulated onto a copy through the use of copiers and computer software.
Rile & Hicks uses a well-recognized 9-level scale, ranging from Identification to Elimination, for expressing opinions on handwriting. A copy of this scale can be provided upon request.
Testimony
We have testified as expert witnesses on hundreds of civil and criminal cases in local, state and federal court.
A list of testimonies is available upon request.
A list of testimonies is available upon request.