about fisher forensic

Testing  |  Consulting | Declarations/Reports/Exhibits  |  Testimony  | Collaborations
"Patricia is the consummate professional, thoroughly schooled in her profession, and one of the most composed witnesses, I have ever watched testify."
Michael J. McLaughlin, Esq.
San Francisco, California

Fisher Forensic Document Laboratory, Inc. offers a state-of-the-art facility for the nondestructive examination of questioned documents and/or documents that are in dispute. With over 35 years full time experience in Document Analysis, M. Patricia Fisher is a Board-Certified Forensic Document Examiner, who brings a wealth of knowledge, working on a broad range of documents. She has extensive skills and understanding in consulting on cases, which include but are not limited to:

  • Consulting
  • Writing reports
  • Preparing demonstrative exhibits
  • Testifying

To date, Ms. Fisher has been retained on over 4000 cases and has provided testimony in more than 300 cases, in both Federal and State courts. In addition, Ms. Fisher has  testified in arbitrations, hearings and depositions.

As a former teacher with a California Life-Time Secondary teaching credential, she enjoys sharing and educating attorneys, judges, juries and those involved, regarding the field and science of forensic document examination. Ms. Fisher is proactive in keeping up to date with the technology in the field.

Ms. Fisher works with her assistant Rima Askurava, an Associate Document Examiner, who was certified as a document examiner by the Board of the Ministry of Affairs of the Republic of Georgia. Before coming to the United States where she is now a U.S. citizen, Ms. Askurava supervised other document examiners in the Section of Handwriting and Document Examiners at the Ministry of Affairs.

Testing

Using state-of-the-art equipment makes a difference in accurately testing and analyzing evidence.

Microscopic examinations permit the examiner to see the subtle details in handwriting or whether they are on original documents. Using an attached 4K camera to capture high definition, microscopic enlargements assists in clearly illustrating the evidence that can then be used for demonstrative exhibits in reports or for testimony.

The Video Spectral Comparator 80i (VSC 80i) c captures high-definition images with a larger range of field than the microscope. This is important when it is necessary to show a larger area of the document without adding anything to the image. This process assists in reducing error when recording the evidence.

With the VSC80i, multiple types of examinations can be conducted including the following four:

  • Inks with an infrared source and excitation lights
  • Papers with an ultraviolet source
  • Indentations using side lighting from both directions,
  • Side-by-side comparisons of images

The Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) is an essential part of a forensic document examiner’s laboratory. The ESDA picks up indentations not visible to the naked eye when other writings were written on top of the pages being tested.

Adobe Photoshop and the Pikaso Write-On 3.0 are two important software programs to use in the examination of questioned documents. Adobe Photoshop is especially important as many documents are now being created using graphics programs. By understanding how a graphics program works, it is easier to identify when programs have been used for altering or fabricating documents, or if genuine signatures are incorporated into a new document.

Write-On 3.0 is used primarily with extended writings. An example of the program is seen in the following image where the words “kill” in the Zodiac letters are side by side with the words “kill” in one of the suspect’s writings. The program recorded 135 examples of the small letter “k” in the Zodiac letters that were transcribed into the program.

Zodiac "K's" on the left, known suspect "K's" on the right

Consulting

"Ms. Fisher’s expertise, dedication, insight, and continued communication throughout the litigation were invaluable. ... I can’t express how truly grateful I am that Patricia Fisher was willing and able to provide her expertise. I whole heartedly recommend her."
Holley H. Perez, Esq.
Fresno, California

Before determining whether or not the questioned or disputed documents are authentic, it is important to consult with Ms. Fisher to learn what additional documents are needed to conduct examinations. She and her Associate Document Examiner will test the documents and provide a verbal report. The attorney will then decide whether to have a report written, be prepared for exhibits in testimony for deposition, or at trial if the attorney decides to name Ms. Fisher as an expert.

An increasing number of documents are submitted to the laboratory because the question is whether signatures have been electronically transferred from other documents or if the document has been fabricated. In these cases, original documents rarely surface. To capture high-definition images of the document, the VSC 80i is invaluable. These images can then be shown to the attorney to better evaluate the evidence.

Declarations / Reports / Exhibits

"Ms. Fisher drafted a convincing and thorough report establishing that a disputed signature belonged to the opposing party. Her work was thoughtful and persuasive. The other side did not challenge her as an expert. I appreciated her professionalism and timeliness."
Jason C. Astle, Esq.
Denver, Colorado

Ms. Fisher’s academic background in journalism and as the editor of the Journal of Forensic Document Examinationfor over 10 years, provide an excellent background to prepare well written declarations and reports with demonstrative exhibits. Demonstrative exhibits that captured critical evidence in a settled case or at trial are shown throughout the case samples.

Testimony

"Her testimony during our jury trial was without a doubt critical to our success. Her demonstration and clarity at trial were invaluable."
Kyle Monte de Oca, Esq.
San Francisco, California

To date, Ms. Fisher has testified in over 300 trials in federal and state courts along with providing testimony in arbitrations, hearings, and depositions. She has testified for both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases and for both the prosecution and the defense in criminal cases.

Ms. Fisher published an article in the legal newspaper, the Daily Journal, titled, “Genuine Draft” (she did not make up this headline) in 1996 describing how best to work with a document examiner to prepare for testimony. Her article is just as relevant today as it was in 1996.

Collaborations

Joseph G. Barabe
Senior Research Microscopist at Barabe & Associates LLC, Oak Park, IL

Mr. Barabe specializes in materials analysis of art, historical objects and documents, from ancient to contemporary. He studied microscopy under Dr. Walter McCrone, and recently retired from McCrone Associates Inc. in Westmont, IL. His special interests include printing process identification (historical and contemporary, fine art, commercial and office) and altered and forged documents, exclusive of handwriting identification issues, and the identification of printing inks and paints, especially when the date of composition of the document or item is in question. He teaches workshops in Microscopy for Forensic Document Examiners, which covers the basic theory and use of the stereomicroscope, including micrometry, a history of ink, writing instrument identification, Printing Process Identification, and the Microscopical Identification of Art Pigments at the Hooke College of Applied Sciences in Westmont, IL, or on site. He frequently contributes oral presentations at professional forensic document examiners’ and art conservation symposia, and he has published frequently in the Journal of Forensic Document Examination on topics including sequence of writing, ink analysis and printing process identification. Notable publications relevant to forensic document examination include “Printing Process Identification: A Microscopical Atlas,” (2010, Vol. 20, pp 5 – 37), and, with M. Patricia Fisher and Walter Rantanen, “RARE 1972 Marilyn Monroe Oyama Photo Book,” (2007 Vol. 18 pp. 41 – 62), a case study of a fabricated collectible publication.

To date, Ms. Fisher has testified in over 300 trials in federal and state courts along with providing testimony in arbitrations, hearings, and depositions. She has testified for both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases and for both the prosecution and the defense in criminal cases.

Ms. Fisher published an article in the legal newspaper, the Daily Journal, titled, “Genuine Draft” (she did not make up this headline) in 1996 describing how best to work with a document examiner to prepare for testimony. Her article is just as relevant today as it was in 1996.