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://judicial-inc.biz/Lindbe2.jpg
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.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).
H. Norman
Schwarzkopf
Police Chief
General Norman Schwarzkopf
Desert Storm
http://www.lindberghkidnappinghoax.com/hnorman.jpg
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 “goldnotes”, 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.
Charles Lindbergh testifying in court.
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
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
After the Lindbergh kidnapping “baby” monitors
became extremely popular for apprehensive parents.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raimist/317515181/
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.