Profiles

Robin D. Williams, BSAJ, MFS, MS, D-BFDE

Mr. Williams is a Board Certified Document Examiner with over

30 years of experience.

View Curriculum Vitae

Formal Education

• Police Science (two years), Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, WI. 1972-74.
• Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice. The American University, Washington, D.C.1980.
• Master of Forensic Science degree, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1981.
• Graduate Studies in Education, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI, 1985-87.
• Master of Science Degree, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 1996.
• Ph.D. Candidate in Safety Engineering, Kennedy-Western University, Boise, Idaho.

Certification and Testing

Certified by testing, by the Board of Forensic Document Examiners, (BFDE), 2008.
The BFDE is accredited by the Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board (FSAB).
Recertified by the Board of Forensic Document Examiners 2013.
Recertified by the Board of Forensic Document Examiners 2018.

Training and Continuing Education

• Mentored in the field of Document Examination under the direction of Document Examiners Clarence Bohn, (Retired FBI Crime Laboratory and Professor at George Washington University, Washington, D.C.) and Viola Stevens, (Retired Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory).
• Special Studies in Forensic Photography, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
(Msgt Brady and Dr. Thompson).
• College of Microscopy, Fundamentals of Microscopy Workshop for Forensic Document Examiners, McCrone College of Microscopy, Westmont, Illinois, October 24, 2006.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2006 continuing education symposium, October 25-28, 2006, McCrone College & Laboratory, Chicago (Westmont), Illinois.
• Rochester Institute of Technology in conjunction with the United States Secret Service Laboratory, Rochester, NY, Symposium and conference for Forensic Document Examiners, June 12-15, 2007. Topics included traditional, digital and contemporary printing processes as well as forensic identification of printing processes.
• Leadership Seminar Marian College (attended a Seminar by the Pointman Leadership Institute entitled “Principle Based Leadership, The Importance of Ethics”, June 6,7, 8, 2001 held at Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin).
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2007 continuing education symposium, September 26-29, 2007, Tucson, Arizona.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2008 continuing education symposium, October 17-20, 2008, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2009 continuing education symposium, November 5-8, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2010 continuing education symposium, October 14-17, 2010, Phoenix, Arizona.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2011 continuing education symposium, November 3-8, 2011, Louisville, Kentucky.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2012 continuing education symposium, October 18-21, 2012, Phoenix, Arizona.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2013 continuing education symposium, October 10-13, 2013, Chicago (Westmont), Illinois.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2014 continuing education symposium, October 16-19, 2014, Salt Lake City (West Valley City), Utah.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2015 continuing education symposium, October 23-26, 2015, San Antonio, Texas.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2016 continuing education symposium, October 28-31, 2016, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2017 continuing education symposium, October 13-16, 2017, Reno, Nevada.
• Attended Association of Forensic Document Examiners 2019 continuing education symposium, October 11-14, 2019, Denton (Dallas), Texas.
• Attended “Printing Process Identification for Forensic Document Examiners” October 14, 2013, Hooke College of Applied Sciences, McCrone Institute, Westmont, Illinois.
• Attended AAFS Annual Meetings 1989, La Vegas, NV; 1990, Cincinnati, OH; 2008, Washington, D.C., and attended Workshop # 21, “The Impact of Confirmational Bias and Context Effect on Report Writing in the Forensic Science Laboratory”; Workshop # 5, “ The Applications of Color Analysis and Light Theory in the Forensic Examination of Documents”; 2009 Denver, Colorado, and attended Workshop #7 “ Security Documents.

Before and After the Crime: REAL ID, Physical and Electronic Security Features, Developments in Commercial Printing Technology, and an Introduction to Counterfeit Link Analysis”; Workshop # 18 “Standards in the Forensic Sciences: Their History, Development, and Impact on Laboratory Practice; 2010 Seattle, Washington, and attended Workshop #7, “Signature Examination: Translating Basic Science to Practice”; 2011 Chicago, Illinois, and attended Workshop #6 “Fracture Match of Papers, Tapes, and Miscellaneous Materials for Document Examiners”; Workshop #13 Indentation Sequencing Workshop”; 2012 Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Workshop #20 “Flawed Forensics: Recognizing and Challenging Misleading Forensic Evidence and Disingenuous Expert Testimony”. 2013 Washington, D.C., and attended Workshop #4, “Signature Examination of Healthy and Impaired Writers”; 2014 Seattle, Washington, and attended Workshop #10 Bias in Forensics – “Examining the Sources and Impacts of Bias on Perceptual and Cognitive Judgments Made by Forensic Experts, Strategies for Excluding or Impeaching Expert Testimony Tainted by Bias, and Proposed Solutions for Minimizing or Inhibiting Biasing Influences”; Workshop #22, “Questioned Document Examination and Enhancement of Evidence Using Various Light and Filter Techniques”; 2015 Orlando, Florida, and attended Workshop #13 “The examination of Skillfully Simulated Signatures”; Workshop #20 “ Cognitive Bias Issues in the Forensic Analysis of Pattern and impression Evidence and in Medico-legal Evaluations; 2016 Las Vegas Nevada and attended Workshop #1 “Information Does Exist Beyond the First Page of Your Google Search”.
• Attended all Scientific Sessions Related to Forensic Document Examinations at the Annual Meetings of The American Academy of Forensic Sciences for years: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
• Attended ASTM E30-02 annual subcommittee meetings on Forensic Document Examination/Committee on Forensic Sciences E30: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. Attended annual meetings of committee E30 on Forensic Sciences: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
• Ongoing conferences and review of numerous books, journals, and publications in the above areas.

Publications

• Contributing writer/editor Book Review/Commentary, “Scientific Examination of Questioned Documents”, Second Edition, by Kelly, J.S., Lindblom, B.S. (Editors) 2006, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fl., Published in the Journal of Forensic Document Examination Volume 21, 2011.
• Article published in the “TLMI Illuminator” publication (Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute).
• Contributor Chapter 17 on Document Examination, Eleventh Edition, ”Criminalistics An Introduction to Forensic Science”, by Richard Saferstein, Ph.D., Copyright 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc., ISBN_13: 978-0-13-345882-4.
• Contributor Chapter 17 on Document Examination, Third Edition, “Forensic Science From the Crime Scene to the Crime Lab”, by Richard Saferstein, Ph.D., Copyright 2016, 2013, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc., and its affiliates ISBN 978-0-13-359128-6—ISBN 0-13-359128-X.
• Contributor Chapter 18 on Document Examination, Twelfth Edition, “Criminalistics An Introduction to Forensic Science”, by Richard Saferstein, Ph.D., Copyright 2018 by Pearson Education, Inc., ISBN_13: 978-0-13-447759-6.
• Contributor Chapter 18 on Document Examination Thirteenth Edition, “Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science”, by Saferstein & Roy.

Presentations

• Presentation of a case of Memorabilia Fraud involving Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre, at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, Tucson, Arizona, 2007.
• Presentation of a Workshop on Procedures for Obtaining Exemplars, at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2009.
• Presented a Workshop, Part I, on request writings related to an admitted forger involving a case between the Defendant and The University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, Louisville, Kentucky, 2011.
• Presented a Workshop, Part II, on request writings related to an admitted forger involving a case between the Defendant and The University of Wisconsin, Madison WI, at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, Phoenix, Arizona, 2012.
• Presented a Case Review of how a bookkeeper who created fraudulent credit card statements containing false charges to the account, as well as the use of a rubber stamped signature of her employer to cash numerous checks made out to her on checks drawn from the credit card account, at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, San Antonio, Texas, 2015.
• Presented a Workshop, Part III, on a psychological approach to obtain request writings related to procedures to employ to overcome the possibility of the writer’s ability to disguise his/her handwriting, at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, San Antonio, Texas, 2015.
• Presented a workshop entitled “When Does a Signature Contain Enough Detail to Render an Opinion”? Several factors play into giving an opinion regarding genuineness or non-genuineness of a signature. In this workshop, each attendee was given the questioned signature to compare to a few selected known signatures and then either render an opinion, or not render an opinion and give reasons for their decision. Forensic Document Examiners will discuss what they would do in a case that does not provide much detail and clarity in the signature and what qualifies a questioned signature as being acceptable. Presented at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, Reno, Nevada 2017.
• Presented a case study related to a Holographic will that came into question regarding authorship of entries. In this particular case, the questions regarding the holographic will revolved around the method of the alterations as well as the handwriting of the changes to the will, and who made them. Presented at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners, Reno, Nevada 2017.
• Co-wrote a presentation about, “True Tremor vs. False Tremor in Handwriting”, related to: By the year 2020, for the first time in history, people aged 65 and over will outnumber children that are under 5 years of age; and as of today, there are more people aged 65 and older than the combined total population of Russia, Japan, France, Germany and Australia. As the over age 65 group gets larger every year and increasingly infirmed, so does the opportunity for fraud to occur. The rise in conditions that may affect handwriting increases as the population ages and grows exponentially. The presentation will provide samples of handwriting regarding false tremor that may aid the Forensic Document Examiner on future cases where false tremor is suspected in a signature or handwriting. Presented at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners Reno, Nevada 2017.
• Wrote a presentation called, “Charred and Liquid Soaked Documents”, which focused on the collection, preservation, recovery and analysis/examination of charred and liquid soaked documents and included scenarios that document examiners may encounter, such as: safety concerns and protocols, document triage, preservation and evidence production, as well as other methods that should be followed. Presented at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners Savannah, Georgia 2018.

Professional Experience

• Over thirty years of professional experience as a Forensic Document Examiner.
• Teaching and Research History, Undergraduate Level at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Blackhawk Technical College, Marian College and Concordia University.
• Qualified to teach the following courses:
- Criminalistics
- Constitutional Law
- Courts and Jurisdiction
- History and Philosophy of Law Enforcement
- Interviews, Interrogations and Confessions
- Criminal Investigation
- Law of Arrest, Search and Seizure
- Criminal Law
- Administrative Law
- Criminal Procedure
- Police and Technical Photography
- Rules of Evidence
- Police Administration
• Certified Law Enforcement Instructor by Wisconsin State Department of Justice/Training and Standards Bureau, 1984-2007.
- Constitutional Law
- Community Resources
- Criminal Code
- Criminal Justice System
- Criminal Procedure
- Defensive Tactics
- Ethics
- Evidence Collection
- Interviewing & Interrogations
- Investigations
- Juvenile Code
- Physical Evidence
- Professional Orientation
- Testifying in Court
- Administrative Law and Procedure
• Full Time Faculty Member Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Police Science Program.
• Adjunct Faculty Member Blackhawk Technical College, Law Enforcement Officer’s in-service program.
• Part Time Faculty Member, Marian University, Administration of Justice Program, Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin.
• Adjunct Professor, Concordia University, Criminal Justice Program, Appleton and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
• Lecturer in Legal Investigations and Demonstrative Evidence, Carthage College.
• Developed Chemical Reagents for Ink Testing of Photocopies.
• Court-Qualified as an expert in the field of Forensic Document Examination. I have testified in State and Federal Courts, as well as Administrative Hearings/Arbitrations.

Community Service

• Charter Member of the Police and Fire Commission for the Village of North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 1997 to 2020.
• Offices held as a Police and Fire Commissioner: Secretary 1998-1999, Vice President, 1999 to 2013, President, 2013 to 2020. Also served as a panel member - Employment Relations for Employment Evaluation of Police Officers and Fire Fighters prior to the formation of the Police and Fire Commission.
• Police and Fire Commissioner for the Village of North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 1997 to present.
• Offices held as a Police and Fire Commissioner: Secretary 1998-1999, Vice President 1999 to 2013, President 2013 to Present. Also served as a panel member - Employment Relations for Employment Evaluation of Police Officers and Fire Fighters prior to the formation of the Police and Fire Commission.
• Engaged in leadership roles in community and church activities.
• Past President, Vice President and Board of Directors Member of Bay Area Youth Development Services Inc. (Non-Profit), 1990 - 1995.
• Appointed to Marian University School of Criminal Justice, Homeland Security & Forensic Science Dean’s Advisory Board 2008-present.

Memberships

• Association of Forensic Document Examiners (AFDE), Vice President of the Association 2016 to Present; Acting President of the Association 10/2019 to 10/2020.
• Association of Forensic Document Examiners (AFDE), Vice President of the Association 2016 to Present.
• American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee E30 on Forensic Sciences.
• The Board of Forensic Document Examiners (BFDE), Treasurer of the Board from January 2014 to May 2016; President of the Board 2016 to Present.

Bonnie L. Schwid, D-BFDE (retired)

Ms. Schwid is a Board Certified Document Examiner that has been studying handwriting since 1970. Ms. Schwid has testified over 100 times in cases across the US.

FORMAL EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science, Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

CERTIFICATION

Board Certification was earned from the Board of Forensic Document Examiners (BFDE). The testing consisted of a written, practical and oral examination plus presentation of my opinion to a mock jury of lay people.

COURT TESTIMONY & EXPERIENCE

Has testified as an expert witness more than 100 times in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. Testimony has been rendered in state courts in civil, criminal and probate matters. She has also testified in election and arbitration hearings. Has made presentations or lectures to corporations, banking associations across the country and to other document examiners in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Europe. Her seminar on 'Forgery Detection' for banking personnel won an Award of Excellence for its effectiveness by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Society of Training and Development.

APPOINTMENTS

The Wisconsin Supreme Court appointed Ms. Schwid as a public representative to two terms on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Wisconsin (1987 - 1993) and two terms as a public representative to the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility (1993 - 1999).

ARTICLES

• Illegible Signatures and Writing in Litigation, 25 POF 3rd 637, 1994
• Elements of Language and Handwriting, Journal of Forensic Document Examination, Vol 5, Fall, 1993 pp 15-31
• Forensic Case Study: Multiple Personality in Handwriting and Drawing: a Multidisciplinary Approach, Europia, 1994, pp 501-513 (Co-author with Lynn Wilson Marks)
• Numerous other articles for business and professional journals