Since everyone else is talking about this
A handwriting analyst who said he is 99.9 percent certain that John Mark Karr wrote the JonBenet Ramsey ransom note was disqualified as an expert witness earlier this year by a federal judge who challenged his expertise.
Georgia Federal District Court Judge Clay Land wrote that analyst Curtis Baggett was not certified by several industry groups, had not undergone proficiency tests and had not authored texts in the field of handwriting analysis.
In comparison to another expert witness, Land said Baggett's qualifications "are clearly paltry."
Baggett responded Tuesday that he has testified in more than 2,500 cases and was successfully disqualified in only about four. He said he has never been disqualified when he has appeared at trial.
A document examiner studying at Handwriting University, a training company that Baggett and his son run, says sniping is not unusual in the field.
"Every time you're on the top, someone is after you," said Vicki Kizer, who is studying under Baggett. "Curtis does more document exams per month than most people do all year."
Several other document examiners have said they are strongly leaning toward Baggett's conclusion based on a comparison of Karr's writing in a high school yearbook with the three-page note left on the Ramsey family stairway on the day JonBenet was reported missing.
In 2004, a federal magistrate in Maine also challenged Baggett's credentials and excluded his testimony in a civil case there.
Baggett said he was staking a large part of his reputation on his judgment that Karr wrote the ransom note.
He said there were at least 12 points of similarity between the ransom note and the yearbook entry.
Texas document examiner Linda James, however, said that while there are similarities between the yearbook writing and the ransom note, more evidence is needed.
"There are too many other things to consider," she said.
She also said Baggett had considered similarities, but not dissimilarities.
With the issue of DNA in the JonBenet case still in doubt, much of the case against Karr could revolve around expert handwriting analysis.
If that happens, experts said handwriting analysts will probably line up on both sides of the issue.
Baggett is one of the nation's most well-known document examiners.
He attributed the Maine and Georgia disqualifications to inadequate information about his credentials given to the courts in his absence.
Georgia Federal District Court Judge Clay Land wrote that analyst Curtis Baggett was not certified by several industry groups, had not undergone proficiency tests and had not authored texts in the field of handwriting analysis.
In comparison to another expert witness, Land said Baggett's qualifications "are clearly paltry."
Baggett responded Tuesday that he has testified in more than 2,500 cases and was successfully disqualified in only about four. He said he has never been disqualified when he has appeared at trial.
A document examiner studying at Handwriting University, a training company that Baggett and his son run, says sniping is not unusual in the field.
"Every time you're on the top, someone is after you," said Vicki Kizer, who is studying under Baggett. "Curtis does more document exams per month than most people do all year."
Several other document examiners have said they are strongly leaning toward Baggett's conclusion based on a comparison of Karr's writing in a high school yearbook with the three-page note left on the Ramsey family stairway on the day JonBenet was reported missing.
In 2004, a federal magistrate in Maine also challenged Baggett's credentials and excluded his testimony in a civil case there.
Baggett said he was staking a large part of his reputation on his judgment that Karr wrote the ransom note.
He said there were at least 12 points of similarity between the ransom note and the yearbook entry.
Texas document examiner Linda James, however, said that while there are similarities between the yearbook writing and the ransom note, more evidence is needed.
"There are too many other things to consider," she said.
She also said Baggett had considered similarities, but not dissimilarities.
With the issue of DNA in the JonBenet case still in doubt, much of the case against Karr could revolve around expert handwriting analysis.
If that happens, experts said handwriting analysts will probably line up on both sides of the issue.
Baggett is one of the nation's most well-known document examiners.
He attributed the Maine and Georgia disqualifications to inadequate information about his credentials given to the courts in his absence.
posted by Bludlust at 12:53 PM
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