Can a handwriting expert be wrong? Absolutely.

I’ll say that plainly, because it’s the truth, and because honesty is the foundation of everything I do in court. If I’m not willing to admit I can be wrong, why would anyone trust me when I say I’m right?

There are two reasons experts make mistakes. The first is incompetence. That happens in every field. The second is that some experts will give whatever opinion they’re paid to give. Those experts usually lose in court, because there’s no science behind a bought opinion.

I know what it feels like to be wrong. I had a case once where I was given one known signature and a questioned document. I told my client from the beginning: one sample is not enough to establish the full range of a person’s natural variation. They wanted a report anyway. I wrote it: the questioned signature appears to have been written by a different person.

At deposition, the opposing attorney set a stack of about 100 samples on the table. I looked at them. I changed my opinion.

My own attorney thanked me for being honest.

That case taught me something I already knew but needed to live through: the opinion is only as good as the evidence behind it. When I don’t have enough evidence, I say so. When more evidence changes the picture, I say that too. A good expert who tells the truth is worth more to your case than a confident expert who won’t admit what he doesn’t know.

Curt Baggett
 The Nation’s #1 Forensic Document Examiner
Over 2,000 cases handled across all 50 states
972-644-0285
972-814-2695
https://expertdocumentexaminer.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a handwriting expert be wrong?

Absolutely. Honesty about that is the foundation of credible testimony — if an expert is not willing to admit they can be wrong, why would anyone trust them when they say they are right?

Why do handwriting experts make mistakes?

Two reasons: incompetence, which happens in every field, and experts who give whatever opinion they are paid to give. Bought opinions usually lose in court because no science stands behind them.

Is one known signature enough for a reliable opinion?

No. One sample is not enough to establish the full range of a person’s natural variation. An opinion is only as good as the evidence behind it.

What should an expert do when new evidence appears?

Change the opinion if the evidence warrants it, and say so. An honest expert who admits what they do not know is worth more to a case than a confident expert who will not.