| GINO G. PIERETTI, JR. Attorney at Law May 21, 1997 The National Association TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Re: Jacqueline Joseph I recently completed a trial in which a widow was claiming that her deceased husband's signature on his most recent will was forged by her stepson. The case was tried in the Clackamas County Circuit Court for the State of Oregon, before Circuit Court Judge Robert Selander. The Clackamas County Circuit Court case number is P96-10-47. The widow's expert witness, document examiner, Dorothy B Lehman, testified that she had been a forensic document examiner full time since 1970 and had testified over 200 times in various cases throughout the states of Oregon ,California, Washington, Idaho, and Kansas. She testified that the signature on the will was a forgery and that the handwriting was very similar to the handwriting of the widow's stepson (the decedent's son). We retained Jacqueline Joseph to undertake a study and evaluation as to whether or not the claimed forgery was a genuine signature of the decedent. Ms. Joseph testified at the trial that in her opinion the signature was genuine, that it was the signature of the decedent, and that it was not the signature of the son of the decedent. At the conclusion of the closing arguments, Judge Selander ruled from the bench, without any hesitation, that the evidence indicated that the signature was genuine. In large part, his ruling was based upon Ms. Joseph's testimony. In a nutshell, I would state that ms. Joseph's preparation and presentation was excellent. She had obviously done her "homework" and was well prepared on all the relevant issues. Her Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education and public speaking was evident. She was logical in the manner in which she presented her conclusions and her testimony was clear and convincing. I would recommend Jacqueline Joseph to your Association without reservation. I would also recommend her to anyone interested in retaining a qualified document examiner. If you would like any further information from me or any more detail regarding her testimony in the trial referred to in this letter, please give me a call. Very truly yours, |
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