Does document examination and handwriting identification meet the requirements of the Daubert Rule?
Ever since the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786. 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), the forensic document examination field has been challenged as not meeting the Daubert factors required for the admissibility of scientific evidence. The Supreme Court envisioned that trial courts would conduct a factor based analysis when determining whether the testimony was reliable: (1) “whether the theory of technique can be and has been tested” (2) “whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review and publication” (3) “the known or potential rate of error” (4) “the existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique’s operation” and, finally, (5) “‘general acceptance’ can yet have a bearing on the inquiry.” However, the opinion noted that the factors did not comprise a definitive checklist or test. On May 13, 1999, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the
