Discrimination between right- and left-handed writers based on sister lines

Abstract

Forensic document examiners are often confronted with questioned documents written with ballpoint pens. Depending on the force applied (or pressure) as well as the angle between the pen and the surface, sister lines running parallel to the inked strokes can be left by the lip of the housing ball. In a real case, sister lines were observed on the left side of inked strokes of a questioned signature. To assess whether the writer of that signature was a left-handed or a right-handed writer based on this result, an experimental study was carried out. Handwritten samples and signatures from 182 right-handed and 18 left-handed writers were collected with different ballpoint pens. For every writer, the presence or absence of sister lines was recorded. Sister lines were observed in 49% of the writers of the studied population (in 50% of the right-handed and ca. 39% of the left-handed writers). Most individuals who left sister lines showed a writing angle of 50°–55°. The location of sister lines was tabulated to inform probabilities of observing sister lines at a given location, if the writer is a right-handed or left-handed writer. In the case at hand, a likelihood ratio of 48 was obtained in support of the proposition of a left-handed writer, rather than a right-handed writer. Applying Bayes' theorem, such value moves the prior probability of 15% that the writer of the questioned signature is left-handed to a posterior probability of 89%.