[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by drc

Often, a court simply won't accept as expert autograph witness a dealer. It's not a comment on the dealer's abilities, but the judge's rules for picking. Few judges are autograph experts themselves and have no idea which reseller is knowledgeable and which is not, so have to rely on strict formal guidelines. Some judges are suspect of the entire forensic handwriting area and won't accept anyone as an autograph expert. So a judge not picking someone as an expert sometimes is neither here nor there beyond the courtroom. If an Indianapolis Judge's rule is a toxicology expert witness has to be certified in Indiana, that doesn't mean toxocologists from Minnesota and Florida don't know what they are talking about, and the judge herself may say that's not what the rule implies.

I testified for the prosecution in the case of the notorious Danny Dubcek.
The police, with me along with them on their raid, had a search warrant for his store in Nassau County, NY. I went through his entire store inventory and only saw one legitimately signed item in the entire store.
When I testified in court, the prosecutor asked me about my qualifications and experience. The judge then declared me an expert witness.
Maybe NY judges are wiser than those in Indiana.
Dubcek pled guilty and received a short jail sentence.