Lay Testimony on Handwriting Identification Must Satisfy Both Rule 701 and Rule 901(b)(2), Second Circuit Holds

A Second Circuit panel has held that a lay witness offering handwriting-identification testimony must satisfy not only the lay opinion requirements of Fed. R. Evid. 701, but also the requirements of Fed. R. Evid. 901(b)(2), which provide that the witness must have acquired his or her familiarity with the subject's handwriting for purposes other than litigation. The latter requirement is satisfied, the court held, where the witness acquired his or her familiarity for purposes of a criminal investigation. See United States v. Samet, No. 03-1420 (2d Cir. Sept. 11, 2006) (Jacobs, Sotomayor, & Hall, JJ.).