In re Estate of Dama

Citations

• 5 Coffey 24

Syllabus

<p>Will—When Both Olographic and Attested.—A testamentary document in the handwriting of the testator and having subscribing witnesses may be proved either as an olographic or as an attested will.</p> <p>Expert in Handwriting—Who Qualified as.—One who has made a specialty in penmanship at college, who has taught it for many years and to thousands of pupils, and who gives evidence of his proficiency in the presence of the court, may be regarded as an expert in the simulation and imitation of handwriting.</p> <p>Expert Witnesses—Weight of Evidence.—Numbers - do not necessarily count in the ease of expert witnesses, any more than in other cases. It is quality, rather than quantity, which the law regards, so that the mere fact that numerically the force of sheer experts is stronger on one side than on the other is not a matter of moment in itself.</p> <p>Expert in Handwriting—Counsel as.—If the attorneys in a case involving the alleged forgery of a will show themselves possessed of science and skill in handwriting, their argument may be regarded as expert testimony, relieved of the constraint of cross-examination and free from the burden of an oath.</p> <p>Expert Testimony—Credibility—Character of the Witness.—Where an expert on handwriting gives an opinion contrary to what he expressed before the trial, the court said: “The validity of scientific deduction is not to be tested by the tergiversation of scientist in his moral conduct outside the record; his individual deceit and duplicity in dealing with clients may be established or admitted,</p> <p>but the scientific value of his evidence is dependent upon the logical connection between premises and conclusion.”</p> <p>Handwriting—Evidence of Genuineness.—The strongest evidence of the genuineness of handwriting is the testimony of the alleged writer, and next to this is the testimony of a witness who saw the instrument executed and is able to identify it. There are, however, other and different modes of proof.</p> <p>Ha