General Sign-in Room #1 —
Hello and Good Morning

General chit chat with fellow examiners. No moderator.

Breakout Room #2 — Moderated

When You Are Stumped with Unexpected Questions — Beverley East
Come with your questions and help with answers.

Kathie Koppenhaver has been a document examiner for the past 36 years. She has an international business. She has served as President of the National Association of Document Examiners and is Founder and President of the International Association of Document Examiners.

She has testified in court and deposition over 550 times, and she has handled over 3500 cases. She has lectured at 90 seminars. She has written a course, teaches it on a weekly basis, and has trained several hundred people. She has authored several books including Forensic Document Examination: Principles and Practice.

Beverley East MGA, CAM, CFDE is a court qualified Forensic Document Examiner who has practiced in the field for 32 years internationally. She has testified before 36 judges in 6 countries. She has offices in Washington D.C., Kingston Jamaica, and London England.

In 2020 she consulted on an Emmy nominated episode with the Smithsonian History Channel "America's Hidden Stories." She contributed on an investigative episode for CBS New 48 hours (not yet aired). She participated in an FBI Handwriting Identification Research Study in 2020. In 2015 she received the forerunner Award from the Institute of Caribbean Studies. For Caribbean Heritage Month June 2021, she received a citation from the Speaker of the Maryland General Assembly in recognition of her work as a Forensic Document Examiner.

She completed all 5 modules of the Cardiff University Law School Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificate in London England. She was part of the team responsible for dismantling and identifying the falsification of witness statements on the 'Stone Crusher Gang' trial in 2012. In 2020 part of a team successful for the Manchester Municipal $400 million fraud scandal in Manchester Jamaica. Her two-year QDE training course was approved by the IADE Board in 2020.

She is also a bestselling author of three books. She was named by Ebony magazine in 2018 as one of the "Six Caribbean writers you should take some time to discover."

Nathalie Bureau has a degree in Psychology/Mathematics, in Education and is a 3rd generation document examiner. She lives in London Ontario, Canada and has been a sole practitioner in Forensic Handwriting Examination since 2017. She has been court-qualified and has given testimony, and some of her reports have elicited confessions from the authors of anonymous writings. Nathalie's background in human behaviour and mathematics combined with professional training and apprenticeship provides her with unique skills which benefit the profession of forensic document examination, handwriting examination, and handwriting analysis.

Bilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome surgery on Friday January 19, 2024 resulted in complications due to Staph Infection in my right hand. After two additional surgeries to cleanse the wound of infection, I found that I had numbness in my thumb, middle and ring fingers.

Writing and signatures were obviously impaired and altered due to the loss of feeling in the fingers, creating different pressure patterns as well as change of writing speed.

Examples of the change in the presented signatures will show the initial impairment as well as improvement as I gained feeling back in the injured hand.

Jeff Chadney is currently assigned as the Major of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement Division. Major Chadney serves as the chief administrator of personnel in the following divisions: Patrol, Criminal Investigation, Narcotics, Aviation, Marine Waterway Unit, Livestock, SWAT Team, and Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Unit. He also assists the training academy as an adjunct instructor when needed.

Major Chadney has served as an instructor for the U.S. Air Marshals, Rio De Janeiro Civil Police Academy, Brazil, and an adjunct instructor for the Criminal Justice curriculum at Kaplan College. Captain Chadney holds a Master Peace Officer Certificate, and an Instructors Certificate through TCOLE.

Mr. Chadney is Owner/Lead Investigator of Eye For Truth Investigative Services.

Major Chadney holds the following certifications: Professional Certified Investigator, Certified Criminal Defense Investigator, Major Crimes Investigator, Financial Crimes Investigator, Fraud Specialist, Anti-Money Laundering.

PS Techniques — Brett Goldstein

(This class is optional. It is not part of our normal webinar schedule. If you do attend, you will get additional hours for training.)

Breakout Room 1 — Hello and Good Morning

General chit chat with fellow examiners. No moderator.

Breakout Room #2 — Moderated

Discussion on Daubert Hearings — How to Survive Them. Frye Hearings and Shreck Hearings
Moderated by Kathy Carlson

This presentation will review the recent change to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 (Testimony of Expert Witnesses), the Advisory Committee Report of May 2022, and recent decisions applying the amended rule. It will discuss how trial courts may change their procedures to comply with the rule, issues the amended rule's language may raise with appellate courts, and how the new language may change state court practices. It will also identify how experts can assist by including in their expert reports a specific section that "demonstrates" compliance with Rule 702 and working with the client's lawyers in drafting proposed findings of fact for the judge to enter.

James Smith principally focuses on environmental and safety matters including defense of enforcement actions, cost recovery, compliance counseling, and supporting transactions. Included in his environmental litigation experience are civil and criminal trials in state and federal court, both jury and non-jury, and numerous contested cases before TCEQ and other administrative agencies. He has argued appellate matters before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Texas, and several intermediate Texas appellate courts.

Hiral Mehta is a Certified Questioned Document Examiner with a degree in law, and, university certification and training in questioned documents. She is currently pursuing her MS in Forensic Science and Criminal Justice. She has an experience of 15 years including with banks and bespoke clientele. She takes keen interest in legal ramifications and cross examination.

Robert Farr will be presenting on "Finding the Forger" — from just a few words, where he underscores the importance of procedure and methodology. His findings led to the forger's confession and the avoidance of a lengthy and uncertain administrative process.

Robert Farr is a retired civil servant who has spent thirty-one years in intelligence and analysis, countering revenue fraud, corruption and money laundering. Since 2018 he began training as a handwriting expert, having examined documents throughout his professional life and is now a Certified Question Document Examiner.

Dr.Shabnam Preet Kaur, Ph.D., M.S. is a certified and highly accredited Forensic Document Examiner based in Canada, recognized for her expertise in the field since 2010. Dr. Kaur is currently working as a Forensic Document Examiner at Forensic QD Services. She holds both a master's and a doctorate degree from Punjabi University, Patiala, India in forensic science with a specialization in questioned documents. She is a regular member of several professional organizations, including the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, the Chartered Society of Forensic Science, and the International Association of Forensic Document Examiners. Dr. Kaur previously served as an advisory member at Humber College in Toronto and now teaches courses on questioned documents during the fall and winter semesters. Additionally, she has published numerous research papers and articles in renowned journals about questioned documents.

With extensive experience in Questioned Document Examination, she has also worked prominently with Docufraud Canada in Toronto and has provided her services across various provinces in Canada including Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Additionally, Dr. Kaur holds the distinguished position of Scientist 'B' (Documents) Gazetted Officer, Group A, appointed by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), Government of India. She served at a British-era national laboratory in Shimla, now merging with the Central Forensic Science Laboratory under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Directorate of Forensic Science Services.

Breakout Room #1 — Hello and Good Morning

General chit chat with fellow examiners. No moderator.

Breakout Room #2 — Moderated

Interesting Cases Involving Tremor — Beth Chrisman
Feel free to share your cases.

Erich Speckin is President of Speckin Forensic Laboratories with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and East Lansing, Michigan. He began his college education at Purdue University at age 15 studying engineering, then at Albion College at age 17 to study biology and pre-med and graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in Chemistry. He has authored or co-authored thirteen scientific papers with topics such as Obverse-Reverse Intersection of Lines, Impression by Traced Forgery, and Ink Dating Examinations, to name a few. He has spoken nationally and internationally at various forensic meetings and seminars. He has performed examinations in over 2000 cases and presented sworn testimony in 33 states and five countries.

Alex Cuello, Esquire, a partner in Cuello & Hernandez, LLC has been admitted to practice law in Florida since 1996. Mr. Cuello received his B.A. from Florida International University, law degree from St. Thomas University and Master of Laws degree in Elder Law from Stetson University. Mr. Cuello's practice focuses on Elder Law with an emphasis in the areas of Probate Administration and Litigation.

Alex Hernandez is a partner in Cuello, Soto and Hernandez, LLC in Coral Gables, Florida. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami in 2006. He received his law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010. Mr. Hernandez was admitted to the practice of law in 2013. Alexander Hernandez represents clients with Estate Planning and Probate issues.

Annual General Membership Meeting