A sequence determination is a type of examination conducted by a
forensic document examiner.
[
ASTM Standard E444-09 (Standard Guide for Scope of Work of Forensic Document Examiners) indicates in section 4.2.1.4 that the work of a forensic document examiner includes "The establishment of the date, source, history, sequence of preparation, alterations or additions to documents, and relationships of documents". Copies of ASTM Standards can be obtained directly from ]ASTM International
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...
. This type of
forensic
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...
examination is done in an attempt to determine which of two events occurred first in the preparation of a document. Another term used for this type of examination is "sequence of intersections" since the evaluation requires intersection of physical materials on the document.
Types
* Sequence of Strokes: term for examinations involving two or more writing strokes from one or more writing instruments
* Sequence determinations for writing ink with other types of material:
**
Ballpoint pen
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". ...
ink/
toner
Toner is a powder mixture used in laser printers and photocopiers to form the printed text and images on paper, in general through a toner cartridge. Mostly granulated plastic, early mixtures only added carbon powder and iron oxide, however, ...
sequence
**
Ballpoint pen
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". ...
ink/
inkjet
Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper and plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range from small inexpensi ...
ink sequence
**Writing instrument/paper fold sequence
**Writing instrument/typewriting sequence
* Other sequence determinations:
**Toner/paper fold sequence
Methods
The primary means of evaluation involves direct visual examination using microscopy and various lighting options. The intersection point may involve subtle deviations from the normal manner of deposition or production that can be observed on microscopic examination (e.g. extraneous ink deposits, skipping, misalignments, embossing, etc.). The lifting/casting technique (see below) has also been tested with some success. Intersections involving indentations may also be assessed using an
electrostatic detection device An electrostatic detection device, or EDD, is a specialized piece of equipment commonly used in questioned document examination to reveal indentations or impressions in paper that may otherwise go unnoticed. It is a non-destructive technique (will ...
to visualize latent indentations.
*Binocular
optical microscopy
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
*
Scanning electron microscopy
*
Atomic force microscopy
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the op ...
*Lifting techniques
**Kromekote paper method
**Mikrosil casting method
*
Electrostatic detection device An electrostatic detection device, or EDD, is a specialized piece of equipment commonly used in questioned document examination to reveal indentations or impressions in paper that may otherwise go unnoticed. It is a non-destructive technique (will ...
(EDD) method
[
]
Significance
The underlying concept is that each of the sequences will produce a distinctive result that can be visualized or measured.
In some instances, the results will be essentially conclusive with only one reasonable interpretation. In other situations, the results may be less definite in that the observed features may permit more than one interpretation of the original sequence.
References
Forensic techniques
Questioned document examination
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