<P> A forensic document examiner is intimately linked to the legal system as a forensic scientist . Forensic science is the application of science to address issues under consideration in the legal system . FDEs examine items (documents) that form part of a case that may or may not come before a court of law . </P> <P> Common criminal charges involved in a document examination case fall into the "white - collar crime" category . These include identity theft, forgery, counterfeiting, fraud, or uttering a forged document . Questioned documents are often important in other contexts simply because documents are used in so many contexts and for so many purposes . For example, a person may commit murder and forge a suicide note . This is an example where a document is produced directly as a fundamental part of a crime . More often a questioned document is simply the by - product of normal day - to - day business or personal activities . </P> <P> The American Society for Testing and Materials, International (ASTM) publishes standards for many methods and procedures used by FDEs . E30. 02 was the ASTM subcomittee for Questioned Documents . These guides were under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E30 on Forensic Sciences and the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E30. 02 on Questioned Documents . The ASTM Questioned Document Section has been disbanded . </P> <P> All of the Standards are now available through SWGDOC (The Scientific Working Group for Document Examiners). The Standard Guide for Scope of Work of Forensic Document Examiners indicates there are four components to the work of a forensic document examiner . It states that an examiner "makes scientific examinations, comparisons, and analyses of documents to: </P>

Who developed the fundamental principles of document examination