Asked in Criminal Law for Texas

Q: Is it legal for a document to have facts of a case marked thru, have something else written in its place & not initialed

And if its not, then what gets done about it. I'm talking about two very important facts. The date of offense being one of them. It was marked through, another date written in & not initialed. I just want to know what kind of Justice gets done when something like that happens. Does the case get dismissed due to ta technicality like that?

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2 Lawyer Answers
Kiele Linroth Pace
Kiele Linroth Pace
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Austin, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: No, and that's not really even a technicality. Initialing handwritten changes is a good practice, but it is not required. The general rule is that when there is a conflict between handwritten text and machine typed text, the handwritten portion controls. An attorney could question whether the modifications were made before or after the document was signed. That would probably prompt the opposing side to bring the person who signed the document to testify as to whether or not the modifications were present at the time of the signature.

Michael Hamilton Rodgers agrees with this answer

Michael Hamilton Rodgers
Michael Hamilton Rodgers
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Dallas, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: Not only is is legal to mark thru and overwrite info in a document, it is encouraged. If you think about it, this document-changing indicates that the document has been reviewed and a correction has been made to make the information contained therein more accurate. And because the information has been marked thru, the change is essentially highlighted to show that the original mistake has been fixed. If the info had been erased or cleverly whited out, the change might go unnoticed and be much more suspicious. (Forget about "initialing" as it rarely matters.)

Your excellent question actually answers itself. "What kind of justice gets done" is precisely the kind of justice we expect when someone like you "spots" the mark-thru. That is, you noticed the change, questioned it and brought it to our attention so we can make a 3rd check to guarantee its truthfulness and accuracy.

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