HANDWRITING AND FORGERY

Business and Personal Law

Mr. K

October 22, 2012

Objectives

Students will learn the following:

1. Learn how handwriting and paper analyses can be used to detect forgeries

2. Explore the role of handwriting and paper analyses in solving crimes and mysteries

3. Learn about famous forgeries of the past

Vocabulary Forensic Science

Definition: The scientific analysis of evidence that is ultimately used as part of a case in a court of law.

Context: Forensic science encompasses both fingerprint and handwriting analysis, as well as close scrutiny of fabrics, hair, and other evidence found at the scene of a crime.

Forgery

Definition: The crime of falsely making or altering a document.

Vocabulary

handwriting analysis

Definition: The study of the form, spacing, content, and alignment on the page of a sample of handwriting.

Context: Examining the way a person shapes letters and spaces them on a page, as well as consistent spelling and punctuation errors—all part of handwriting analysis— gives investigators further information about the perpetrator of a crime.

paper analysis

Definition: The study of the materials used to make paper, whether additives have been used, and whether other identifying features, such as watermarks, are present.

Context: Performing a paper analysis of documents can often reveal when the document was written.

Evidence Law enforcement officials use many kinds

of evidence when trying to solve a crime. Sometimes that evidence takes the form of

a written document. By finding out who wrote a document and

when, investigators can come closer to solving certain crimes.

Analyzing documents is another aspect of forensic science , the scientific analysis of evidence that can be used in a court of law.

How do investigators analyze handwriting on a written document associated with a crime?

Investigators look closely at the

following characteristics when they are

examining handwriting: The form of the handwriting, such as the

shapes of the letters and their slant, angles, connections, and curves

The line quality, or the thickness of the line as a result of the type of writing instrument used and the pressure exerted while writing

How do investigators analyze handwriting on a written document associated with a crime?

The arrangement on the page, including spacing, alignment, formatting, and unique punctuation

The content, including the spelling, phrasing, punctuation, and grammar

Analyzing In addition to analyzing the style of the

handwriting, forensic scientists analyze the paper used.

Scientists look at what the paper is made of, what additives have been used, whether watermarks are present, and whether surface treatments, such as heat or resins, have been used.

By analyzing the paper, scientists can often tell how old a document is.

Finally, scientists also analyze the ink to help figure out what kind of pen was used to write the document.

History of Forgery

While there are many cases in which handwritten documents have played a role, a few are particularly famous. Here are two examples: The ransom notes in the kidnapping of

Charles Lindbergh, Jr., on March 1, 1932 Clifford Irving's forgery during the 1970s of

letters and an autobiography he claimed Howard Hughes, the reclusive billionaire, had written

The Lindbergh Kidnapping

In 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh became a national hero in the United States. At the age of 25, he had been the first person to make a

solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

“The Lone Eagle”, as the press dubbed him, was modest, charming, and good-looking,

and his fame lasted.

http://judicial-inc.biz/Lindbe2.jpg

Three years later, he and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh were America’s golden

couple, to such an extent that they felt compelled to flee from the public.

http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpghttp://judicial-inc.biz/Lindbe2.jpg

They built a house on a remote tract of land in New Jersey near the little town of Hopewell, and here, on June 22, 1930, their first child

was born.

http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg

“The Eaglet”, as the child came to be known, lived for less than two years.

http://www.trutv.com/graphics/photos/notorious_murders/classics/brooke_hart/1-1-Charles-Lindbergh-Jr.jpg

On the cold, rainy night of May 1, 1932, somewhere between 8 and 10 p.m., the little

boy was kidnapped.

Ladder found at the nursery window.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/graphics/photos/notorious_murders/famous/lindberg/Ladder(200).jpg

Lindbergh was out hunting with his Springfield rifle for signs of the kidnapper

when the State Police arrived, headed by their chief, H. Norman Schwarzkopf (father of

General “Stormin” Norman Schwarzkopf of Desert Storm).

http://www.lindberghkidnappinghoax.com/hnorman.jpg

General Norman SchwarzkopfDesert Storm

H. NormanSchwarzkopfPolice Chief

Lindbergh had already found an envelope. Inside they found a ransom note in blue ink

demanding $50,000. Details of where to place the money would follow.

http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg

The police were not to be informed. Three days later another note arrived, raising the

ransom to $70,000.

Analysis of Handwriting A total of 1,400 words were

collected from all of the submitted ransom notes and notifications sent by Hauptmann, as well as his collected personal documents.

These printed words were used by investigators to link Hauptmann to the crime, based on some of the following criteria: Word and letter spacing Height and width of a letter Lettering slant, or the degree of

slant to the left or right. Diacritic placement, or where the

t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted.

Pen lifts, or when and where a pen is lifted during words or between words.

Lindbergh was prepared to do whatever was asked for the return of his child.

A meeting was arranged at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx (New York City) with a

man who called himself “Cemetery John”, following which the child’s sleeping suit was

mailed to Lindbergh.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/louis_z_bickett_ii/3420775605/

A second meeting was arranged, attended by both Condon and Lindbergh. The heard

Cemetery John call them in a strong German accent.

Police Sketches of “Cemetery John”http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg

Lindbergh handed over $50,000 in “gold-notes”, and received a note allegedly telling him where to find the victim. It was now over a month since the little boy had been taken.

http://www.lindberghkidnappinghoax.com/rancash.jpg

The note was worthless. Another month was to pass before the body of Charles Jr. was

found, just four miles from home.

http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg

At first, one of the Lindbergh’s servants was suspected of the crime. The poor woman was so upset by such an accusation that she killed herself, swallowing silver polish that contained

arsenic.

http://www.lindberghkidnappinghoax.com/weirdviolet.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001/265661079/

And then, almost a year after the discovery of the body, some of the ransom money turned

up at a gas station in the Bronx.

http://wnyheritagepress.org/photosofweek/fillmore_william_gas_detail.jpg

The gas station manager thought it odd that a customer should pay for 98 cents of gas with a $10 bill, and noted the license plate number

on the car.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/08822/Apr2211.jpg

It turned out to be registered to a man named Bruno Hauptmann, a German who had

entered the States illegally in 1923.

Hauptmann’s trial was held in Fleming, New Jersey. Hauptmann was found guilty.

http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg

Charles Lindbergh testifying in court.

In the little time between sentence and execution, he was vilified in the press, but

later doubts were voiced as to the justice of his trial and sentence.

http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg

For 60 years, up to her death in 1994, his widow Anna persisted that he had been

innocent.

http://www.capitalcentury.com/thechair.jpg

As for the Lindberghs, they had another son, and left the United States to settle in Europe,

where the “Lone Eagle” sadly became an early supporter of the Hitler Nazi Regime. But

that’s another story.

http://history.sandiego.edu/cdr2/WW2Pics/12244.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raimist/317515181/

After the Lindbergh kidnapping “baby” monitors became extremely popular for apprehensive parents.

Today…

You will research a case involving Forensic Evidence. Using PowerPoint you will share the case explain how forensic analyses played a part in the solving of the crime.