Handwriting expert Ann Mahony is a certified forensic document examiner in both civil and criminal matters, providing expertise to the legal community, corporations, financial institutions and private individuals. She brings 30+ years experience, combined with a wealth of knowledge, expertise and professionalism to the job.
A Graphic Design major in college, she learned the intricacies of inks and papers, dyes and printing. Focusing on letterforms, she studied typography for two years with Heinz Schenker, who trained at the School of Design, Basel Switzerland. After graduation, she turned her attention to forensics, training with a mentor, and became court qualified in 1982. She remains current in the field through annual study, training, and proficiency testing, and has been certified through written and oral examination, case testing and peer review.
Ann has rendered opinions on signatures, printing, initials, graffiti, watermarks, ink, paper, and computer generated documents in a variety of formats, including wills, grant deeds, insurance claims, corporate records, medical records, notary entries, petitions, promissory notes, anonymous hate mail and more. Her office is equipped with both both infrared and ultraviolet viewing capability, as well as ESDA testing for indented writing.
She has delivered presentations on: stroke and its effect on handwriting, signatures of bedridden individuals, anonymous hate mail, dating a document through watermarks, page substitution in contracts, identifying a case from initials, altered checks, internal employee theft, the use of infrared detection in medical records, bogus exemplars, and how to protect your will and your signature.
Retained in over 900 cases to date, Ann has testified as an expert witness in both Federal and Superior Court.