Legal Question in Criminal Law in South Carolina

This would be easier to answer if I knew why you were asking. The answer depends on what the purpose of having the expert analyze the samples would be. To answer your question, I will assume that the reason you are asking would be for the purpose of the lawyer defending the case at trial.

Yes, the lawyer could just send the samples to an expert. But then at trial how could the expert testify as to who signed what? He couldn't. He would not have any personal knowledge as to who it was that signed each piece of paper. Usually in these cases what the defense attorney is trying to do is to prove that the defendant is not the person that signed the check. So in order to do that, you could have the defendant provide his signature to the expert and he could compare it to the signature on the check and testify that it isn't the defendant who signed the check. If this was my case, what I would do is I would consult with other attorneys who have had a similar case that went to trial and I would get advise on what to expect and how the judges view and rule on these matters. Then I would consider getting some copies of things that the defendant signed PRIOR to the forging that took place in this case and have the expert give me his opinion. Lastly, I would meet with the expert well in advance of trial and have him fill me in on everything that I would need to know about exactly what he does, how he does it, and so forth.

My point is this. A good defense attoreny will never ask a question that he doesn't already know what the answer is. To do otherwise is dangerous and can hurt your case. Therefore, you would need to do your homework so that you know ahead of time exactly what the expert would be able to testify to at trial.

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