ABSTRACT

According to Rule 702 in the Federal Rules of Evidence a witness may testify as an expert if that person possesses knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education on a specific topic.1 This is a judgment call by the court that does not necessarily follow the standards of qualifications held by the profession’s organizations or certifying bodies. Untrained document expert witnesses provide a unique, and at times frustrating, experience for qualified FDEs. This untrained expert witness is not necessarily one who is an advocate for the party who retained him or her, but is one who lacks the requisite training in forensic document examination. Graphologists/graphoanalysts, fraud/forgery detectives, criminalists, and critics of the forensic document profession are considered untrained document experts because they lack the two-year formal training period in forensic document examination. This chapter will discuss how the two groups differ and areas of inquiry during cross-examination.