Course-of-Business Writings
Definition
Handwriting exemplars collected from writings the subject produced in the normal course of their life, before the case arose, without knowledge that the documents would be examined; also called natural writings or collected writings.
- Also called
- Natural writings, collected writings
- Collection context
- Produced before the case arose, in the subject's normal activities
- Key property
- Subject unaware the writing would later be examined
- Contrast
- Request writings, produced on demand for the case
Common questions
Why are course-of-business writings generally preferred over request writings?+
Because the writer had no reason to alter their natural hand when producing them, course-of-business writings reflect genuine, unguarded writing habits, whereas a person asked to write exemplars for a case may consciously or unconsciously disguise their handwriting or, in a forgery allegation, may deliberately write badly.
What practical difficulty do course-of-business writings present that request writings avoid?+
Because they are collected from existing records rather than produced to order, they may not contain the specific words, letter combinations, or writing conditions present in the questioned document, and their date and authenticity must independently be established, unlike a request exemplar written under the examiner's direct supervision.
Related terms
- Character Inventory
- The pre-collection analysis of the questioned document to identify all letters, numerals, and special characters it contains, which then governs the comparable-text...
- Comparable Text
- The requirement that the exemplar set contains multiple repetitions of each letter, numeral, and character type that appears in the questioned document,...
- Contemporaneity
- The requirement that the exemplar set includes writings produced at approximately the same time as the questioned document, to avoid comparing writing...
- Gilbert V. California (1967)
- US Supreme Court decision holding that compelled handwriting exemplars do not constitute testimonial self-incrimination protected by the Fifth Amendment, because handwriting is...
- Natural Variation
- The normal within-writer fluctuation in individual features across repetitions of the same letter or writing task; an examiner assesses whether questioned-writing variation...
- PACE 1984 s.61A
- The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 provision (inserted by the Criminal Justice Act 2003) allowing a UK constable to compel a...
- Request Writings
- Handwriting exemplars produced by the person of interest specifically for comparison purposes, under conditions controlled by the investigator or examiner; also called...
- Section 73 IEA / BSA 2023
- The Indian Evidence Act 1872 provision (carried forward into the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023) empowering a court to direct any person to...
- Sufficient Quantity
- The requirement that the exemplar set contains enough repetitions of each significant individual characteristic to allow the examiner to establish the writer's...