Philip L. Schmitz was the 13th President of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners. |
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Mr. Schmitz was born in Minnesota in 1917. He completed a bachelor's degree at St. Thomas College (now the University of St. Thomas) in 1939.
He initially went to work in the typewriter industry, but was soon hired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he trained in the FBI Laboratory to become a questioned document examiner. During World War II, he volunteered for military service and became an lieutenant on the staff of Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines. He was also assigned to a war crimes investigation detachment. |
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After the war, Mr. Schmitz became a questioned document examiner with the Veteran's Administration, Washington, DC, eventually becoming the chief of the document laboratory. In, 1969, he established a document laboratory for the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Schmitz retired from government service in 1974 and entered private practice. Philip Schmitz became a Regular Member of the ASQDE in 1965 and was later elected to Life Membership. He served as the secretary for the Society prior to becoming president. Mr. Schmitz was also the Chairman of the Questioned Document Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and was a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners. He authored a number of published articles and professional papers, such as "Anonymous Letters," published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences and "Should Experienced Document Examiners Write Inconclusive Reports," published in the Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science. Mr. Schmitz passed away in 2018. |
