2026 AFDE & NADE  SYMPOSIUM

"Handwriting and Document Forensics:
From Digits to Digital"    

  Bloomington, Minnesota 

    Friday, October 2 (8:00 am) - Sunday October 4 (5:30 pm), 2026

                

  Just moments from the Mall of America and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Embassy Suites by Hilton Bloomington Minnesota offers spacious two-room suites and exceptional ammenities for every traveler. Guests enjoy a free made-to-order breakfast, evening reception, and access to the modern fitness center and indoor pool.  The hotel's convenient location provides easy access to area favorites like Great Wolf Lodge, Nickelodeon Universe, the Minnesota Zoo, Fort Snelling, and downtown St. Paul. 

     Room rates are $162.00 plus taxes per night (single or double), and include a free parking and internet. Book online before 9/10/26 for the group rate. Free shuttle to and from the airport! The room rates apply three days before and three days after the symposium based on availability and when booked before 9/10/26.  The booking link is on the Registration Form.

PROGRAM - 2026 Symposium - 8:30am Friday-5:30 pm Sunday

Workshop on the Examination of Digitally Captured Signatures

Tomasz Dziedzic and Carina Fernandes

Abstract: The use of digitally captured signatures (DCSs) has become commonplace, as they provide a more convenient, faster, and cost-effective alternative to conventional pen and paper signatures in modern times. The rise in popularity of digitally captured signatures has a direct impact on the casework of Forensic Document Examiners (FDEs) and emphasizes the need for additional tools and training on this subject. The aim of this workshop is to provide FDEs with key concepts regarding DCSs, and the additional features that may be analyzed compared to conventional pen and pen signatures. In addition, participants will receive hands-on training in the use of specialized analysis software for the examination of DCSs and its basic functionalities, including the use of different types of visualization graphs, and statistical data processing. Furthermore, they will have the opportunity to conduct practical exercises using this software. For this purpose, participants will be required to bring their own computers and install the analysis software in advance, using the links that will be provided.

From Briefs to Pen Strokes: Generative AI’s Transformation of Litigation and Forensic Document Examination

Damien Riehl, Lawyer · Technologist · Musicians

Abstract: GPT-4 passed the bar exam and beat 90% of human test-takers; today’s frontier models score 99%. And  multimodal models (e.g., Gemini, GPT) now ingest handwriting samples and compare questioned signatures against exemplars. This presentation, led by litigator, coder, and AI builder Damien Riehl, splits across two fronts. First, litigation: how Generative AI is rewriting pleading drafting, evidence synthesis, and judicial workflows — with live demonstrations and an honest accounting of hallucination, bias, and confidentiality risks. Second, forensic document examination: how Gemini and peer models can analyze signature exemplars, augmenting  examiners’ eyes across handwriting attribution, ink analysis, and document authentication — and a path toward AI-assisted examination. You won’t want to miss this fast-paced and information-filled discussion of where the law is going.

On the neural control of handwriting

Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., Professor

Abstract: Human handwriting constitutes a very special skill in human evolution that distinguishes humans from all other animals including non-human primates. The earliest universally accepted evidence of true written script created by human hands originated around 3400-3200 BCE in Mesopotamia and Egypt. In this talk, I will review and summarize what neural resources are necessary and what parts of the nervous system are necessary for handwriting.

In general, the control of handwriting involves a complex network of cortical and subcortical structures. It relies on a specialized, predominantly left-lateralized parieto-frontal brain network that translates abstract linguistic representations into precise fine-motor execution. At the core of this circuit lies the graphemic/motor frontal area (GMFA), that essentially functions as a cognitive-motor bridge. GFMA retrieves stored character representations and converts orthographic memory into stroke-by-stroke movement sequences. Physical stroke execution is subsequently driven by the primary sensorimotor cortex, and concurrent proprioceptive and tactile sensory feedback. The specific aspects of how we write by hand are further modulated by inputs from the supplementary motor area, the cerebellum and basal ganglia that regulate temporal stroke sequencing, movement rhythm, and internal pacing.

Because handwriting is closely aligned to speech, the specialized handwriting motor architecture operates in close alignment with linguistic processing centers, including the left inferior frontal gyrus and the fusiform gyrus, which supply critical orthographic and phonological information.

The talk will conclude with examples of how aging and neurological disease such as cerebellar ataxia, Parkinson’s disease or stroke affect specific aspects of handwriting.

Meeting the ASB standard for taking contemporaneous notes

M. Patricia Fisher, D-BFDE

Abstract: Document examiners need to know if they are taking contemporaneous notes as required by the ANSI/ASB Standard 070, First Edition 2022, “Standard for Examination of Handwritten Items.” This presentation will present an effective and time-saving way of taking these notes. The template that will be presented will cover all the “shalls” in the handwritten standard. Standards that include the word “shall” are requirements. Attendees will be presented with a template to use and a template that they can modify as needed. The presentation will be an outgrowth of a presentation by Mark Goff during the document examination session of this years’ American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting in New Orleans. Mark Goff is a ABFDE certified board document examiner and document examiner at the Michigan State Police Department. He has given the presenter permission to use his format that the presenter has modified for her case work.

ANSI/ASB Standards and Their Effect on the Forensic Document Examiner

Kurt Kuhn, Forensic Document Examiner

Abstract: Since the integration of the forensic document examination to oversight by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a significant number of standards have been proposed and approved/published by ANSI/ASB. Are you aware of them and how they may effect you on a daily basis? The majority of forensic document examination casework is covered under Standard 070 – The Standard for the Examination of Handwritten Items. This standard will be discussed and the opportunity will be made available for discussion. If properly utilized, this standard may allow you use it to your advantage in the deposition or courtroom setting.

Testing the Test Questions

Emily Will, D-BFDE

Abstract: Test questioned for accredited certification testing must be pilot tested. New test questions are tried out on a small, but representative group of individuals and the results are analyzed to check that the questions are valid (measure what they should measure), reliable (consistent), fair (unbiased) and neither too difficult or too easy. The BFDE (Board of Forensic Document
Examiners) will be pilot testing new questions. This is an opportunity for the attendees to test their own knowledge, and also to offer feedback on the proposed questions. The test will be conducted anonymously. Overall results will be available via an identification code, although specific answers to each question will not be provided due to the security requirements of certification testing.

Becoming a More Effective Rebuttal Witness, Part 5: Navigating the Conflict

Jacqueline Joseph, D-BFDE

Abstract: Being a rebuttal witness is one component of expert witnessing. Becoming a more effective rebuttal witness is a career skill that is developed through experience, training and knowledge.In the judicial system, a rebuttal is a collaborative effort between the expert and the retaining attorney to challenge and test the reliability of the opinion and/or testimony of the opposing expert. Being a more effective rebuttal witness involves providing a compass for use in navigating the conflict to expose errors and omissions. The aim is to dismantle the conflict in a way that serves the fact finder, the truth and justice for all.
This presentation introduces “shadowboxing” which is a technique to stress-test an opposing examiner’s report in advance of testimony. Additionally, using the story of a recent arbitration case, this presentation will also share practical strategies for communicating effectively in arbitration proceedings, including how it differs from courtroom testimony and how these differences influence rebuttal preparation and presentation.

Cognitive and Motor Disorder Impairment in Handwriting

Dr. Heidi H. Harralson, CDE, Dipl.

Abstract: Health-related conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, essential tremor, and others disturb the human motor control system. These motor system impairments affect the fine line quality features in handwriting. These disturbances can cause multiple effects including slow movement as a byproduct of bradykinesia, rigidity and micrographia often associated with Parkinson’s disease, and varying degrees of tremor especially pronounced in essential tremor. Some health conditions associated with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease, influence other handwriting parameters such as spatial orientation, coordination, pen control, alignment, uniformity, spelling, and other factors. Cognitive impairment as manifested in handwriting has a unique set of graphic features that may distinguish it from other motor-related disturbances. Both cognitive and motor-related impairments can co-exist and can be influenced by medications which also affects handwriting traces. This presentation reviews research on cognitive impairment as it is related to handwriting focusing on forensic handwriting and signature identification and use of a rating scale for assessment of cognitive impairment. Relevant case studies are presented to illustrate practical application including health-related impairment and electronic signatures.

Deep Metadata for Document Examiners – What the Document Doesn’t Show You
Celeste Makoff

Abstract: Every electronic document carries far more than the words on its face. Beneath the rendered page sits a layer of structural and embedded data: creation and modification timestamps, producing application signatures, incremental save history, font and object-level artifacts, and traces of content that was edited or deleted but never truly removed. This one-hour session examines that layer directly, covering where it lives in common formats such as PDF, Word, and email, and how it is created and destroyed as a file moves through drafting, conversion, and production. Live demos will show how metadata can corroborate or contradict a document’s claimed origin and date, reveal prior revisions and undisclosed authorship, expose backdating, and identify when a produced file is a rendition rather than the native original.

Thinking Like an AI Forger: Detection in the Age of Generative Documents
Celeste Makoff

Abstract: Generative tools can now produce a signature image that survives a casual look, and examiners are already receiving them in casework. This hands-on hour focuses on two questions. First, what does an AI-generated signature actually look like under examination: how synthetic output handles line quality, pen lifts, terminal strokes, and pressure, why natural variation is the hardest thing for these tools to imitate convincingly, and which traditional comparison principles still carry the weight. Attendees will work through specimen sets containing genuine, traditionally forged, and AI-generated signatures. Second, how AI-generated material announces itself outside the image: the generation and editing residue left in file metadata and the structural evidence that a signature was placed into a document rather than signed on it. Attendees will leave with a practical examination sequence and realistic language for reporting AI suspicion when the evidence supports it.