Examiner Parameters

We, Metro Pulse, Inc., decided long ago to go with a board certified court approved forensic examiner of questionable documents to verify our signatures via verified scientific methods.

We are EXTREMELY uncomfortablewith the 3rd party so called authenticators who claim expertise by looking at books and flawed exemplars rendering loosely held “opinions” by examining scans without ever physically examining the item or properly exploring the provenance, opinions we do not recognize as anywhere near expert or legitimate.

We are including a list of questions any judge would ask a legitimate forensic examiner before he or she would be allowed to testify in a given case and we are including the Supreme Court ruling that clarifies the threshold ANY expert witness must prove to be accepted as an expert witness. These are the parameters by which we chose our examiner.

Cross-examination of the examiner’s qualifications naturally begins with questions relating to training and experience.

Sample questions-education:

• Please describe your formal education and any degrees you hold
• How do your degrees relate to document examination?
• Other than document examination, what training or professional experience have you  had in a technical field?

Sample questions-document examination training:

• How did you begin your training to become a document examiner? With whom did you study? Was this an apprenticeship?
• How many hours did you spend with this person each week or month?
• What was the training and background of the person with whom you studied?
• How many years did you spend doing independent, self-study in document examination?

Sample questions-affiliations and certification testing:

• Are you affiliated with any technical groups for document examiners? Which ones? For how long?
• Does that group require you to pass any tests or peer reviews before being granted membership?
• Does that group offer a certification program?
• Have you been certified by that program?
• Did you get your certification through a grandfather clause?
• Did your certification require written testing?
• Who designed the tests?
• Were those tests administered under supervised conditions?
• Were you allowed to take the tests at home through the mail?
• Could a document examiner who is not a member of your group, apply to take those tests? Why? Why not?
• Was any of your test work reviewed by anyone other than the members of your own group?
• Do you have to be re-tested periodically in order to maintain your certified status? How often?
• If not, why not?