Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Volume 32 | Issue 2 Article 13

1941

Collection of Writing Standards in CriminalInvestigation, TheOrdway Hilton

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Recommended CitationOrdway Hilton, Collection of Writing Standards in Criminal Investigation, The, 32 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 241 (1941-1942)

THE COLLECTION OF WRITING STANDARDSIN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

Ordway Hiltont

In criminal investigations involvingthe question of authorship of hand-written or handprinted documents, itgenerally becomes the function of thepolice officers to collect for comparisonpurposes specimens of handwriting orhandprinting-usually referred to asstandards-from all persons under sus-picion. The proper execution of thisphase of the investigation is of utmostimportance, for poor or inadequate

standards may restrict the findings ofthe expert. As many investigators areunfamiliar with all the requirementsfor a complete and satisfactory set of

standards, it is the purpose of thispaper to call these requirements totheir attention and to suggest pro-cedures whereby the specimens soobtained will be of greatest utility insubsequent comparisons.

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS

Before proceeding with an analysisof these requirements some mentionought to be made of the various writ-ing characteristics upon which theexpert bases his opinion, in order thatthe reader who is unfamiliar with theidentification of handwriting may havea better idea of the numerous factorswhich enter into such identifications.1With some knowledge of the complex-ity of the expert's examination he canthen more thoroughly realize the need

t Examiner of Questioned Documents, Chi-cago Police Scientific Crime Detection Labora-tory.

1 For a discussion of the -writing characteristicswhich are of most importance in signature ex-

for observing each of the following re-quirements for adequate standards.

The great majority of non-expertswho attempt to make identifications ofhandwriting base their opinions for themost part upon letter formation, andespecially upon those forms whichdiffer most radically from their ownwriting. While the expert examinerconsiders the formation of letters, hebases his conclusions upon many otherfactors as well. From his examinationof the questioned and standard writinghe endeavors to determine the custom-ary writing speed. Likewise, he con-siders the rhythm with which the writ-ing is executed; its symmetry andsmoothness or the lack of these char-acteristics; the occurrence of hesita-tions and pen lifts; the presence oftremor, due either to attempted simu-lation of someone else's writing or tofeebleness; the pen pressure which thewriter is accustomed to use; the posi-tion of the pen; and the shading orvariation in pen pressure throughoutthe writing specimens. From his exam-ination he will seek to determine themianner in which the writing was exe-cuted-that is, whether it was writtenentirely by motion of the fingers, of thewrist, or of the arm or by a combina-tion of these various techniques.

In considering letter formation theexpert determines the system of writ-

aminations, together with an illustrated anal-ysis of specimen signatures, see Hilton, Ordway,"The Detection of Forgery," Jr. Crim. Law andCriminology (Police Science Section) 30 (4):568-599 (1939).

[ 241]

ORDWAY HILTON

ing which the person employs, andnotes the variation in letter forms fromthose typical of the particular writingsystem. For this phase of the examina-tion he considers roundness of thewriting, the manner of connecting theletters, the size and proportion ofvarious individual letters as well as ofthe parts of compound letters-such as"d," "k," "b," etc., and the slant andspacing of the writing.

With every writer there is somevariation from specimen to specimenin his writing characteristics, theamount of such variation depending, ofcourse, upon the individual. No twosuccessive times does he write anyword in identically the same manner,not even his signature or such commonwords as "and" and "the," which areamong the most frequently repeatedcombination of letters in everyone'swriting. The determination of theusual variation common to the writingspecimens of an individual is an im-portant identifying characteristic, asthis single factor enables the expert todifferentiate accurately between writ-ings which are similar but not thesame or between genuine and forgedsignatures.

In the case of pages of writing, let-

ters, and even with checks, receipts,and other legal forms, characteristicssuch as the arrangement of the mate-rial on the paper, the spelling, punc-tuation, and the alignment of thewriting relative to printed lines ormargins may serve in effecting anidentification. Likewise, the crowdingor spreading of the material on thepaper often represent individual habits

of the writer.

These various writing characteristicsare among the more common factorswhich the expert considers in thecourse of his examinations. If he is tosuccessfully identify the writing of anindividual, it is obvious that the samecharacteristics must be reproducedboth in the questioned writing and inthe standard specimens as well. Withthis fact in mind requirements for anadequate set of standards can be for-mulated, and the need for observingprecautions when collecting suchstandards can be better appreciated.

CLASSES OF STANDARDS

A set of handwritten or handprintedstandards-to be adequate for com-parison purposes-must contain a suffi-cient quantity of properly preparedmaterial so as to indicate not only theindividual writing habits of the authorbut also the range of variation fromspecimen to specimen in these habits.These standards, of course, need notcontain all the innumerable identifyingcharacteristics of the person's writingbut only those which are associatedwith writing similar in type and con-text to the questioned. Two classes ofspecimens are available which fulfillthese requirements. One consists ofwriting or printing executed from dayto day in the course of business, social,or personal affairs. Such standardsmay be referred to as collected stand-ards. The second class consists ofspecimens of the person's writing orprinting executed upon request of theinvestigating officers for the sole pur-pose of comparison with the questioneddocuments and are generally known asrequest or dictated standards. Sincemany of the problems encountered in

COLLECTION OF WRITING STANDARDS

the preparation of collected standards

are not common to the problems in-volved in preparing request standards,each type of specimens will be. givenseparate consideration.

COLLECTED STANDARDS

The preparation of an adequate setof collected standards depends primar-ily upon the inclusion of a sufficientamount of material, but there are otherfactors which influence these standardsto varying extents. The following out-line includes the principal points whichthe investigator should consider whengathering such specimens:

1. The amount of standard writingavailable

2. The similarity of type of writing3. The relative date of execution of

disputed and standard writing4. The conditions under which both

questioned and known writingwere executed

5. The type of writing instruments

and paper employed.

Amount of Standard Writing

As has already been stated, the mostimportant factor in preparing collectedstandards is to include an adequateamount of writing. It is rather com-monly believed that the expert canmake a positive identification of theauthor of any specimen of writing withonly one or two signatures as stand-ards. Unfortunately, this is far fromthe truth. As already pointed out, thevariation common to all writing makesthis impossible, for only by means ofa number of writing specimens can theexpert accurately determine all thewriting characteristics of an individual,

as well as the amount of variation

which can be expected to occur amongthese characteristics from specimen tospecimen.

No definite rule can be formulatedfor determining the minimum numberof standard signatures necessary for aparticular examination, because theamount of variation from signature tosignature differs with each individual.In the majority of investigations, how-ever, between 15 and 20 specimen sig-natures should prove adequate, butbecause of the individual or the con-ditions under which the standards wereprepared this may not be a sufficientamount. Likewise, the minimum amountof writing necessary to identify thewriter of an anonymous letter or toestablish the authorship of handwrittendocuments varies in each individualcase. Usually 4 or 5 pages of connected,natural writing should be satisfactory.If the questioned documents are hand-printed, a minimum of 4 pages of un-disguised handprinting should be sub-mitted to the expert. In any case, how-ever, investigators should always en-deavor to obtain as large a quantity ofhandwriting or handprinting as possi-ble and should not be satisfied merelyto fulfill minimum requirements.

Similarity of Subject Matter

In addition to having a quantity ofwriting it is important that the stand-ard and questioned writing be of asimilar type. Thus, if a signature isquestioned, standard signatures shouldbe collected; if a check fraud is beinginvestigated, genuine cancelled checksshould be procured; if an account entryis challenged, other entries should beobtained as standards; or if the author-ship of an anonymous letter is to be

ORDWAY HILTON

established, letters or pages of writingshould be gathered for purposes ofcomparison. The reasons for suchchoice will be considered briefly.

Both because of the frequent use o fa person's signature and because of thenature of its use-to represent the

A further point of consideration incollecting standards is the use forwhich a signature is intended, as cer-tain writers employ distinctly differentsignatures for different purposes (Fig.1). An example of this is the personwho uses one style signature for checks

" . .' .. .. ... . .. ..Q. ..-'

K

Figure !VA.RIAoNs 3r SiGNATuRE STYLEs OF Two Warnms

The signatures here reproduced show different signature styles used by two writers. Thedifferences between the Evans signatures are principally in the slant and the style of the capi-tals. The first two Banker signatures might be considered as variations of the same signaturestyle when compared to the third, but, nevertheless, as used by the writer there are a numberof consistent differences between these two specimens so that they can be considered as indi-vidual styles.

writer in business and personal affairs-it tends to become more individual-istic than any other combination of let-ters which he is accustomed to exe-cute. By way of illustration the readerundoubtedly recalls several unusualsignature styles of. acquaintances-sig-natures which differ radically from theremainder of the person's writing.Obviously, in such extreme instancesonly these genuine signatures wouldbe useful in determining the authen-ticity of a questioned specimen, buteven in cases in which signatures ap-pear similar to the other writing exe-cuted by the person, the expert gen-erally finds small details which arecommon only to the signature andwhich makes it desirable to have avail-able standard signatures for compari-son.

and legal documents and a second forcorrespondence. While some suchwriters are very consistent in their usesof each style of signature, others mayfrom time to time vary the use of oneparticular style. Consequently, whileinvestigators should always obtain a

number of signatures which were em-ployed for the same purpose as the

one in question, they should include,

whenever possible, some which appear

on other types of documents so that

the expert is able to determine whetherthe writer employs more than onestyle signature and, if so, whether thequestioned specimen may be of astyle not generally used for the par-ticular purpose.

Principally because of the limitednumber of writing charact ristics oc-

COLLECTION OF WRITING STANDARDS

curring in signatures, but also because

of differences in many instances be-

tween such specimens and the remain-

der of the person's writing, signatures

alone will be of little assistance in de-

termining the authorship of more ex-

tensive specimens of writing. In such

cases standards consisting of letters,

reports, and other written documents

allow the expert to come to much more

definite conclusions, and greater sim-ilarity of subject matter between stand-

ard and questioned specimens makespossible the determination of more

points of identity.

The Relative Date of Execution

The relative date of execution of

standard and questioned writings

should always be considered, as a

person's writing undergoes gradual

changes just as does his appearance

(Fig. 2). The rate of change or varia-

Figure 2CaANGES IN HAm~wmna DUaNG Luz

Signature A was executed about thirty yearsago, B was executed by the same writer re-cently to demonstrate how she used to write,and C is her present style of writing. Note notonly the differences between the "H's" of Aand C but also in the forms of the "n" in thetwo signatures. B indicates the ability of some,but by no means all, writers to reproducerather accurately signature styles previouslyused and suggests a possible disguise whichmight be employed in preparing request signa-tures.

tion differs with each individual and isdependent upon such circumstances asthe amount of writing he executes, hisage, and his mental and physical con-dition. Thus, with a middle aged per-son who is in good health there maybe little apparent change in his writingfrom year to year, but during a severeillness specimens of this same person'swriting may display marked differences(Fig. 3). However, since in the case of

Figure 3EFFECTS or IMIESS oN SIGNATURES

The upper signature was executed during asevere illness, the lower four months later.Note in the first specimen the tremor and poorlyformed letters--characteristics not found in thesecond specimen.

most adults writing changes occur

gradually, material written two or threeyears before or after the disputed writ-ing usually proves to be satisfactorystandards; but as the lapse of yearsbetween the execution of the standardand questioned material becomesgreater, there may be a tendency forthe standards to be less satisfactory.

Conditions Under Which Writing wasExecuted

The conditions under which writingis executed may in some instances affectits value as comparison standards. Thus,haste, lack of care, or an unnatural

writing position-such as resting thepaper on the knee-introduces writingvariations which may make the speci-mens entirely unsuited for comparisonwith more carefully written material.Other noticeable variations can be

ORDWAY HILTON

caused by rough or irregular writingsurfaces or by attempting to write-while riding in a moving vehicle (Fig.4). Illegible receipt signatures andhastily written notes are among the

Figure 4

INLENCE or WRrrNG PosMroN

The writing in the match cover was executedwhile the writer was standing on a moving ele-vated car holding the cover in his hand. Theother specimen was written by the same personseated at a table. The former shows the effectsof the cramped writing position in that, for ex-ample, the upstrokes of the III," "d," 'f," and'T' are shorter, and the writing has poor align-ment compared to the specimen written undermore normal conditions.

most common classes of specimenswhich are affected by these unusualwriting conditions, and such specimens

should never be depended upon ex-clusively for comparison with writingexecuted under more normal condi-

tions, although at times they form avaluable supplement to more carefully

written standards.

Writing Instruments and Paper

Since the identification of handwrit-ing is based upon many factors besidesletter formation, the type of writinginstrument used in executing a given

specimen may have an influence upon

its subsequent comparison with otherspecimens. Some identifying character-istics common to pen writing do notoccur in pencil specimens of the samewriter, while a change in style of pen-

I

for example, from steel to fountain orfine to coarse-or in the grade of pencil-such as from hard to soft-may alsointroduce writing variations (Fig. 5).

The composition, size, shape, and rul-ing of paper may influence the writing

specimens to some extent. f the reader

has ever written with ink on a lowgrade, unsized "yellow" paper, he

knows the difficulties which are en-countered and the blurred specimenswhich so often are the results, and

which do not occur when a high gradeof bond paper is used (Fig. 6). Like-wise, it can be demonstrated by ex-periments that the size of writing often

COLLECTION OF WRITING STANDARDS

Figure 5EFECTs OF Warrixa INsTRIAuhn oN SI&GNATUaIThe above signatures were all executed by

the same person; the upper one with pencil, thelower two with pen. All signatures were sub-mitted as standards for comparison with a sus-pected pencil written signature. As can bereadily seen, the defective pen signatures wouldbe of little assistance in determining the genu-ineness or nongenuineness of pencil writtensignatures.

varies somewhat with a change in thesize of paper, while variations in the

width of the paper may cause crowd-ing or spreading of words and letters.In many cases ruled paper improveswriting alignment, while some indi-

viduals have the habit of writing aboveor below the ruled lines.

To counteract these effects, investi-

gating officers should select pen or pen-cil standards, depending upon whichinstrument was used to execute the

questioned specimens, and should en-deavor to include some standards writ-ten on paper similar in composition,size, shape, and ruling to the ques-tioned paper.

SOURCES OF STANDARDS

Since writing is a part of the dailylife of almost everyone, the possible

sources of writing standards are num-

erous, and officers who frequently in-

vestigate handwriting cases soon de-

velop a rather comprehensive list of

possible sources for standard speci-

mens. Many investigators, however,

who have had little or no experience

Figure 6

Im WRMruM ON SIzW AM Unsiz= PAMThe blurred strokes of the upper specimen

(typical of ink writing on unsized paper) arecaused by the pen picking up particles of paperand by the ink running into the paper fibers.On the other hand, with well sized paper, suchas bond paper, the ink does not run or blur soeasily.

with this type of investigation may find

the following suggestions of some as-

sistance.

Among the possible sources of signa-

ture standards are cancelled checks;

signature cards for savings, checking,

and charge accounts and safety deposit

boxes; signed receipts for telegrams,

special delivery or registered letters,

packages, etc.; signatures on sales slips;

leases, mortgages, bills of sale, contracts,

deeds, and other legal documents; court

records, such as naturalization papers,

bankruptcy proceedings, divorce pa-

pers, probated wills, powers of attorney,

etc.; driver, automobile, chauffeur, and

other types of licenses and license ap-

plications; applications for gas, elec-

tricity, water, and telephone service;

loan applications and receipts; tax re-

turns or affidavits; insurance and em-

ORDWAY HILTON

TABLE IPROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING COLLECTED STANDARDS

Specimens Written in the Course of Daily AffairsA. SIGNATURE INVESTIGATIONS

DO1. Obtain at least 15 to 20 genuine signa-

tures.2. Procure ink signatures for comparison

with questioned ink specimens; pencilstandards for comparson with ques-tioned pencil specimens.

3. Secure, when available, genuine signa-tures used for the same purpose as thequestioned.

(i.e., if a check signature is questioned,best standards are genuine check signa-tures.)

4. Supplement standards with signaturesused for different purposes.

(i.e., in check investigations supplementstandard check signatures with signa-tures on correspondence, important legaldocuments, receipts, etc.)

5. Procure standard signatures of ap-proximately the same date as the dis-puted (preferably within 5 years of thequestioned).

6. If questioned signature was writtenunder unusual conditions, attempt toobtain some specimens which wereexecuted under similar conditions.

7. Secure, whenever possible, some sig-natures written on forms or paper ofthe same size as questioned document.

DO NOT1. Do not rely on only one or two stand-

ard signatures.

2. Do not depend entirely upon other

types of writing specimens.

3. Do not rely exclusively upon signa-tures used for very different purposesthan the questioned.

(e.g., hastily written receipt signaturesfor comparison with questioned signatureson legal documents.)

4. Do not submit only pencil signaturesfor comparison with questioned inkwriting or only ink signatures for com-parison with questioned pencil speci-mens.

5. Do not use signatures written duringextreme illness or intoxication, exceptfor comparison with specimens exe-cuted under similar conditions.

6. Do not depend on recently writtensignatures for comparison with speci-mens written 20 or 30 years ago.

7. Do not collect only the recommendedminimum number of signatures if morespecimens are available.

B. INVESTIGATION OF OTHER SPEcIMENS OF HANDWRITING AND

HANDPRINTING, E.G., ANONYMOUS LETTERS

1. Procure at least 4 or 5 pages of hand-writing or handprinting.

2. If questioned writing is in ink secureink standards; if in pencil submit pencilstandards.

3. Procure some specimens written priorto the date of the questioned writing,and all within a few years thereof.

4. Whenever possible, obtain specimenswritten on paper of similar size, shape,and ruling as that on which the ques-tioned writing appears.

5. Conditions permitting, secure writingwith phrasing, wording, subject matter,etc., similar to the questioned text.

6. When questioned writing has been exe-cuted under unusual writing condi-tions secure, if possible, some standardspecimens which were executed undersimilar conditions.

DO NOT1. Do not depend on but a few lines of

writing.2. Do not rely on only signature stand-

ards.3. Do not submit only pencil standards

for comparison with questioned inkwriting or vice versa.

4. Do not depend entirely on writingwhich is known to have been executedunder abnormal conditions for pur-poses of comparison with questionedwriting executed under normal condi-tions.

(Consider, e.g., effects of illness, intoxica-tion, haste, carelessness, etc.)

5. Do not use present day writing exclu-sively for comparison with questionedspecimens written a number of yearsago.

6. Do not submit only a minimum amountof writing if additional specimens areavailable.

COLLECTION OF WRITING STANDARDS

ployment applications; currency ex-change and pawn shop records; voter's

registrations; time sheets, payrolls, andpersonnel forms; relief, unemployment,and old age compensation records; sig-natures for the purchase of certaindrugs; and in the case of young per-sons, Board of Education or universityclass cards.

In investigations of handwritingother than signatures-for example, ananonymous letter-specimens of the sus-pect's writing very often can be obtainedfrom acquaintances, business associ-ates, or correspondents. 2 If the sus-pect is known to have filed a telegramrecently, it may be possible to obtainphotographic copies of the originalform. Business reports, records, andletters furnish another excellent sourceof standards, as do personnel formsand applications for employment, clubmembership, etc.

The problem of locating specimens

of handprinting may be more difficult,although many application forms re-quest that the applicant print at leasta portion of the information. On theother hand, some persons employ print-ing to a large extent even in a portionof their correspondence so that in suchinstances handprinted specimens maybe readily available after a relativelyshort search.

REQUEST STANDARDS

Even with these numerous sourcesof standards officers may occasionallyfind it extremely difficult, or perhapsimpossible, to obtain handwritten or

2 Correspondence carried on by Roland B. Moli-

neux was used extensively by the state in the

famous trial in 1899 of Molineux for the murder

of Mrs. Katherine J. Adams. For a brief de-

handprinted specimens which were ex-ecuted by the suspect prior to his ar-rest. At other times conditions mayarise in which it becomes necessary toobtain standards before a search forpreviously written material can be com-pleted. In such cases request or dic-

tated standards must be relied upon.

Because of the circumstances underwhich these standards are obtained, thefollowing precautions must be observedin their preparation so that their com-parison value will not be impaired.

1. The material must be dictated tothe writer.

2. The dictated text must be care-

fully selected.

3. An adequate amount of materialmust be included.

4. Some portion of the dictationshould be repeated at least three-

times.

5. Writing instruments and papershould be similar to those used in

executing the questioned docu-

ment.

6. Dictation should be interrupted

at intervals.

7. Normal writing conditions should

be arranged.

Dictation of Material

In order to obtain the most repre-

sentative writing specimens possible,the text of the standards must be dic-

tated to the writer without suggesti"ns

pertaining to the arrangement of mate-

rial, spelling, punctuation, capitaliza-

scription of the trial and the handwriting evi-dence involved, see Ames, D. T., Ame: on For-gery (1900) Chap. XVII, 216-236. A more detailedaccount of the case appeared in The MolineuxCase Edited by Samuel Klaus (1929).

ORDWAY HILTON

tion, or other points which might causea writer to disguise or modify his nat-ural writing habits. If the subject mat-

ter is continuous, as in the case of aletter, this dictation should be main-tained so that the suspect writes con-

tinuously and not with frequent stopsand starts.

With extended texts the initial speedof dictation should be at a rate whichthe writer can easily maintain, butsubsequent specimens should be takenat several different speeds in order toascertain the amount of variation whichmight be expected to occur with suchchanges. Furthermore, faster dictationmay prevent a suspect from furnishingonly his best or neatest writing, whichoften is as undesirable as obtainingonly poorly written specimens since the

questioned writing seldom representseither extreme. If the writer is at-tempting to modify or disguise his writ-ing specimens, this increase in the

speed of dictation lessens his chance ofsuccess. At this point, however, it iswell to recall that many near illiterateindividuals can only write very slowly

paying a great deal of attention to theformation of each letter, while a per-son who attempt§ disguise may writein much the same manner. Thus, thenatural manner of writing of the nearilliterate may suggest disguise, but if

all the precautions outlined above are

observed, the resulting request stan-dards will be consistent in their char-acteristics, unlike the usual dictatedstandards which contain disguise.

Request standards obtained by someother means than dictation-such ashaving the suspect copy typewritten,handwritten, or printed subject matter-do not give as satisfactory results.

By allowing the writer to use a pre-pared copy, a manner of arrangement,as well as the correct spelling and punc-tuation, is indicated to him with the

result that these individual character-istics, which" might otherwise be help-ful for identification purposes, do not

appear in the standards. Furthermore,a person who is copying alternatelyreads and writes, thus producing dis-

continuous writing which containsnumerous stops and starts. As is read-ily seen a carefully conducted dicta-

tion eliminates all these objections.

Selection of Text

The texts for request standards mayconsist of three types of subject matter:(1) the contents of the questioneddocument; (2) some similar materialwhich contains many of the samewords, phrases, and letter combina-tions; or (3) dictation of a set or stand-

ardized form which includes all theletters of the alphabet and a numberof the more commonly used words.

Since in many police investigationsthe person under suspicion is alreadyin custody and may have at least par-tial knowledge of the contents of thequestioned document, there is no ser-ious objection to dictating these con-

tents as standards. In fact, there areadvantages to such a procedure which

make it superior to the other tech-niques. With these specimens the in-

vestigator is relieved of any need toprepare special material for dictation,

while the expert is able to examine thesame combinations of words and lettersin both the standard and questionedwriting.

Occasionally, however, it may be de-sirable not to disclose the contents of

COLLECTION OF WRITING STANDARDS

the questioned writing to the personwho is furnishing the comparison spe-cimens.3 Experience has shown that insuch instances the preferable procedureis to dictate material which is com-parable to the questioned writing-such as a connected text for compari-son with anonymous letters, or spe-cially prepared checks and receipts asstandards for determining the gen-uineness or nongenuineness of ques-tioned checks. In selecting this mate-rial investigators should include asmany words and letter combinationsfrom the questioned writing as pos-sible, making sure that any misspelledwords or any unusual uses of capitalsor punctuation found in the questionedspecimen are included in the dictatedmaterial.

Probably the least successful of allmaterial for request specimens is thestandardized or form dictation, such as"The quick brown fox jumps over thelazy dog." More elaborate texts whichinclude all upper and lower case let-ters of necessity contain unusual com-binations of unfamiliar words andnames. Consequently, even though thedictation is repeated several times, the

.resulting specimens tend to lack thefreedom of the person's usual writing.There are times, however, when formdictations, such as those developed byOsborn,4 prove valuable, and it is sug-gested that officers who are frequently

3 There are some differences of opinion amongexperts as to the material which should bedictated. Quirke, in a discussion of the prepara-tion of standards, suggests that this second typeof request standard, a specially prepared dicta-tion, be used in all cases. He further advises thatthese dictations be prepared as follows: thefirst part, consisting of short and elementarywords, should be read to the suspect prior tothe actual dictation; the second portion, con-raining words and phrases from the anonymousletter but not the actual letter, should be dic-

called upon to investigate handwritingproblems become familiar with one ortwo of these forms.

The reader should not infer from thisdiscussion that he must limit himselfto one type of dictation per subject.On the contrary, a more representativeset of standards can often be preparedby combining two or even all threetypes of texts. Such combinations canbe employed to best advantage whenthe questioned writing is brief and suf-ficient dictation of its contents for anadequate set of standards would re-quire a great deal of repetition. Stillthis technique may be equally advan-tageous when the questioned writingis more extensive, for a change of sub-ject matter-such as from the ques-tioned text to some unrelated material-may help to introduce normal writ-ing variations into the standards.

An additional technique for obtain-ing standards, but not involving dicta-tion, can occasionally be employed. Themost favorable conditions for its useare after a supect has been apprehend-ed while committing an act that wouldconnect him to an offense involvingspecimens of questioned writing. Insuch a case, if he offers an explanationfor his actions, investigators should askhim to write this out and then submitthis written statement together withthe questioned writing to the expert.Because the writer generally concen-

tated without prior reading; and the final portionshould consist of common words of some length.He further suggests careful observation of thesuspect during the entire dictation in an effortto discover any indications of guilt. For a moredetailed discussion of his proposed techniquessee: Quirke, A. J., Forged, Anonymous andSuspected Documents (1930) 233-235.

4 Osborn, A. S., Questioned Documents (2ndEdition) (1929), 34; Problem of Proof (2nd Edi-tion) (1926) 346, 347.

ORDWAY HILTON

trates his efforts upon the problem of

furnishing a logical excuse for his sus-

picious actions and consequently gives

little thought to the execution of the

writing, these statements may well rep-

resent his normal writing and have

upon occasion proved to be excellent

standards.

Amount of Material

As was pointed out in the discussion

of collected standards the natural var-

iation in handwriting requires that these

specimens contain a large quantity ofwriting. In the case of request standards

two additional factors, nervousness and

deliberate disguise, make necessary

even more extensive specimens. Fre-quently, the initial portion of request

writing furnished by an innocent per-

son reflects nervousness instilled in part

at least by being suspected by the po-lice, but when the dictation is con-

tinued at length, subsequent writing

tends to assume a more natural char-acter. On the other hand, many guilty

individuals deliberately attempt to dis-

guise their standards in order to avoid

detection. Fortunately, however, only

the exceptional writer can continue anunpracticed disguise throughout sev-

eral pages of writing. Thus, to assure

that the specimens are free from the

effects of nervousness or deliberate

disguise, as well as indicative of the

natural writing variations, suspects

should be required to furnish at least

5 or 6 pages of handwriting or hand-

printing, or in the case of signatures20 to 25 specimens.

Repetition of Text

Regardless of the type of dictation

employed, some repetition should be

included in the preparation of requeststandards. In questions involving the

authorship of pages of writing this can

be accomplished by repeating at least

one page of material, preferably from

the questioned text, three or four times

at intervals throughout the entire dic-

tation, thus forming a portion of the

minimum requirements for adequate

standards. Such procedure allows the

writer to become familiar with the

subject matter with the result that

frequently more natural writing is pro-

duced. Furthermore, this is at timeseffective in discouraging disguise, for

the writer, realizing that he cannot

consistently reproduce the modifica-

tions of his first specimens, abandonsthe attempt altogether; while if he

continues his efforts to disguise, marked

variations generally appear between

the various specimens. When such con-

ditions are present, the suspect must

be required to furnish several more

pages of writing, some of which consist

of further repetition of previous mate-rial. By this means it may be possible

to obtain some specimens which are

free from the effects of disguise.

Writing Instruments and Paper

The effects upon handwriting result-

ing from changes in the writing instru-

ments and paper can readily be

eliminated from request standards. In

order to accomplish this, it is only nec-

essary to furnish the writer with a pen

or pencil similar to the one used in the

questioned document, and at the same

time to select paper of similar compo-

sition and ruling to the questioned,

trimming it, if necessary, to the same

size and shape. By so doing certain

individual characteristics - such as

COLLECTION OF WRITING STANDARDS

writing above a ruled base line, or themanner of crowding writing on a nar-row sheet of paper-are often repro-duced in the request standards.

Interruption of DictationThe procedure of dividing the dicta-

tion of request standards into two orthree units by means of rest periodsis of value both in eliminating writingfatigue which may be occasioned bythe preparation of extensive specimensand as an aid in preventing continueddisguise. If all completed specimens areremoved from the suspect's view dur-ing these pauses, the problem of main-taining disguise is made more difficult,as he does not have an opportunity torefresh his memory on the changeswhich were made in these specimensand as a result his disguise generallybecomes inconsistent. At times thesuspect realizes his inability to main-tain writing disguise under these con-ditions and may as a result abandonany further efforts toward this end.

Writing PositionFrom previous discussion the reader

will recall that writing position is afactor which often introduces varia-tions into standards. Since a large per-centage of daily writing is executedwhile the author is seated at a desk ortable, in order not to introduce unnec-essary variations in the request stand-ards a suspect should be asked to writeunder similar conditions. In someexceptional cases, however, when thequestioned writing is known to havebeen executed under unusual writingconditions, the writer may be asked toexecute a portion of his specimens ina similar writing position, but theseshould be considered only as supple-mentary to, and not as a substitute for,

standards written under more normalcircumstances.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REQUEST

SIGNATURE STANDARDS

By far the most troublesome problemin collecting request specimens is toobtain a satisfactory set of signaturestandards. Since the amount of writinginvolved even in preparing a largenumber of signatures is relatively small,the effects of nervousness or deliberatedisguise may not be entirely eliminated.On the other hand, request signaturesmay at times be inadequate because ofthe tendency for greater uniformitythan is characteristic of signatures writ-ten from day to day. In most instancesit may be possible to correct thesefaults to some extent at least by thefollowing techniques.

Increasing the amount of writing andat the same time introducing somevariation in the subject matter tendsto improve the standards. In the caseof signatures this can be best accom-plished by interspersing other writingamong these specimens. One of themost simple procedures is to have th~ewriter prepare twenty to thirty speci-men checks or receipts, each of which

contain his signature as either themaker or the endorser, instead of pre-paring an equal number of signaturesalone.

Another scheme-most effective when

the person is suspected of writing afictitious name in his natural hand-writing, as in the case of spurious

checks-is to include among the stand-ards a number of similar names to-gether with the fictitious one. Follow-ing such a technique, if the fictitious

name were "Joseph Martin," severalvariations, such as "Joseph Harts,"

ORDWAY HILTON

TABLE IIPROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING REQUEST STANDARDS

Specimens Written for Comparison Purposes at the Request of the Investigating Officer

A. SIGNATURE INVEsTIGATIONS

DO1. Obtain at least 25 to 30 specimen sig-

natures.2. Have writer make out specimen checks

or receipts in preference to furnishingsignatures alone.

3. If questioned signatures are in ink,have suspect write with pen; if inpencil, with pencil.

4. Require suspect to write each signatureon separate sheet of paper or form.

5. Provide paper or forms of the samesize, shape, composition, and ruling asthe questioned document.

6. Whenever possible, take a portion ofthe standards on different days; alwaysinterrupt preparation of standards onceor twice for rest periods.

7. a. Provide normal writing conditions.(i.e., writer seated at desk or table.)

b. If questioned writing is known tohave been executed under unusualconditions obtain some standards undersimilar conditions.

(e.g., writing produced while standingwithpaper restingin thepalm of thehand.)

DO NOT

1. Do not depend on only one or two re-quest signatures.

2. Do not ask suspect to furnish onlypencil standards for comparison withink signatures or vice versa.

3. Do not have writer execute all signa-tures on the same sheet of paper.

4. Do not leave completed specimens insuspect's view.

5. Do not show questioned writing tosuspect.

6. Do not ask writer to furnish hurriedspecimens under poor writing condi-tions, unless questioned was so exe-cuted.

7. Do not furnish unsized paper for inkwriting unless the same type was usedfor questioned document.

("Yellow" paper is a common type of un-sized paper which is undesirable for inkwriting.)

B. INVESTIGATION OF OTHER SPECIMENS OF HANDwRiTING ANDHANDPRINTING, E.G., ANONyMOUs LETTERS

DO1. Dictate at least 5 or 6 pages of ma-

terial including approximately one pagewhich is repeated three times.

2. Dictate either the text of the ques-tioned writing or some similar text.

(e.g., either the anonymous letter or aspecially composed letter with similarwording.)

3. Furnish writer with pen if questioneddocument is in ink; pencil, if in pencil.

4. Provide paper of similar size, shape,composition, and ruling to that usedfor the questioned document.

5. Interrupt dictation at intervals, andvary speed of dictation from time totime.

6. Provide normal writing conditions; ifquestioned writing is known to havebeen written under unusual conditionshave suspect write some specimensunder similar conditions.

DO NOT1. Do not limit standards to a few lines

of material or to writing the alphabet.2. Do not take only pencil standards for

comparison with questioned ink writ-ing or vice versa.

3. Do not have suspect copy from pre-pared text or questioned document.

4. Do not offer suggestions as to arrange-ment of material, spelling, etc.

5. Do not leave completed specimen inview of suspect.

6. Do not ask writer to execute specimensunder adverse writing co'nditions un-less questioned was written under suchconditions.

7. Do not furnish only unsized paper forink standards unless such was used forquestioned writing. Then it is best totake only a portion of the specimenson it.

8. If specimens appear to contain disguisedo not stop with minimum amount ofmaterial. Continue until disguise iseliminated.

COLLECTiOi uk" wmirinU TAI'iNDAIDS

"Rudolph Martin," "Stephen Marvin," same procedure, likewise, aids in mak-etc., could be obtained. ing request specimens consisting of ex-

When circumstances permit, an ex- tended texts more representative and

cellent procedure to follow in obtainingrequest signatures is to have the sus- should be employed whenever possible.

pect prepare portions of the standards In all cases each signature should be

on different days. Such a technique written on a separate sheet of paper or

generally results in variations in the on a form similar to the questionedrequest signatures which are more

typical of those found in signatures document so as to introduce as much

written from day to day (Fig. 7). This natural variation as possible. Witheach change of paper the

writer tends to alter his

position somewhat as he is

accustomed to do in the

course of daily writing. Thenatural shift of writing po-

sition so produced is not en-countered to such a marked

degree if a series of signatures

_______ are executed on a single sheetof paper, and, consequently, a

series of specimens each writ-

ten on individual forms gen-

erally are more representativeof the genuine signatures of the

writer.

,Occasionally, a change of

writing instrument may make

the standards more represen-

tative. For example, should the

- , , writer be employing a pen,the substitution of a pencil

Figure 7 for several specimens, followed by aEQUEST STAwDARDS PREPA1m AT Dnrmm TnnsThe above signatures represent request stand- return to the use of a pen in subsequent

ards prepared on two separate occasions, the standards, may introduce some of thefirst four signatures being written at the sametime and the last two signatures being executed desired natural writing variations.together at a later date. As can be seen, thereis more uniformity in the signatures whichwere written at the same time than in the sig- COMBINATION OF REQUEST ANDnatures written on different occasions. Mostprominent among these variations is the larger COLLECTED STANDARDSwriting of the second set of specimens and thebreak between the "F" and "B" in these speci- In addition to signatures, other typesmens. Variations more typical of writing exe-cuted from day to day are frequently introduced of request writing occasionally may bein request signatures by obtaining standards on inadequate, primarily because of in-several different occasions.

ORDWAY HILTON

fluence of deliberate disguise.5 There-fore, if representative request stand-ards cannot be procured through pro-cedures already discussed, this type ofspecimen must be supplemented bycollected standards. Such procedure isadvisable in other instances as well, forcollected standards are often superiorto request specimens both in their free-dom from disguise and their betterrepresentation of the natural range ofwriting.

Occasionally, when investigators canobtain only a limited amount of dailywriting, they may be compelled to com-plete the standards with request mate-rial. To assure that these additionalspecimens are representative, the col-lected standards should be consideredas supplementary, and enough materialmust be dictated to form a set of re-quest standards which in itself fulfillsat least the minimum requirements foradequacy.

CONCLUSIONSAs the reader undoubtedly realizes,

the problem of collecting an adequateset of standards requires perseveranceand the utmost care. Preparation of

5An unusual type of deliberate disguise inrequest signature specimens might be accom-plished by the writer whose signature differedgreatly from the remainder of his writing inthe following manner. When asked to prepare aseries of signature standards he might chooseto "write his name," as he would in preparinga list of club members or employees in which

request standards is a far more involvedprocedure than merely furnishing asuspect with a piece of paper and a penand asking him to write a few lines,while to gather sufficient collectedstandards involves more than obtainingone or two cancelled checks whichwere written by the suspect. On thecontrary, to properly prepare collectedstandards an investigator may need tomake exhaustive searches, checking allpossible sources of writing before ob-taining a satisfactory set of specimens;and for request standards he mustcarefully select the material which isto be dictated, and while dictatingwatch the suspect as he writes, alwaysendeavoring to minimize the chancesof disguise. In many instances, how-ever, the effort expended in this phaseof the investigation is well repaid, sincethe results of the expert's examinationbased upon adequate standards maysupply the necessary evidence to com-plete the investigation, while, on theother hand, no expert can formulate anaccurate opinion based upon inadequatestandards.

his name appeared, instead of executing it inits usual distinctive style as he would on acheck or legal document. Such a disguise canbe overcome most effectively by obtaining afew signatures written in the course of dailyaffairs. Confronted with these genuine signa-tures the suspect can hardly refuse to preparea number of similar specimens.