CLI Risk Assessment 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An investigator gets a request to locate a person and the client's story seems inconsistent and emotionally charged. What is the PRIMARY risk to consider?
- The subject may move before the report is finished
- The client may be a stalker or abuser trying to find a victim (Correct answer)
- Public records may be out of date
- The fee may be too low
Correct answer: The client may be a stalker or abuser trying to find a victim
Locate assignments carry a known risk of helping abusers find victims, so client screening and motive checks are essential.
Question 2: What is the MAIN purpose of a pre-surveillance reconnaissance of the subject's neighborhood?
- To collect the subject's trash from the curb
- To interview neighbors about the subject
- To serve legal papers
- To spot vantage points, exit routes, hazards, and exposure risks before the operation (Correct answer)
Correct answer: To spot vantage points, exit routes, hazards, and exposure risks before the operation
Reconnaissance helps the investigator plan for safety, discretion, and effective observation.
Question 3: Which statement BEST describes spoliation risk in an investigation?
- It only applies to digital evidence
- Losing, changing, or destroying relevant evidence can lead to sanctions or adverse-inference instructions (Correct answer)
- It only applies after a trial begins
- It only applies to criminal cases
Correct answer: Losing, changing, or destroying relevant evidence can lead to sanctions or adverse-inference instructions
Once litigation is reasonably anticipated, failing to preserve relevant evidence can bring court sanctions, including adverse-inference instructions.
Question 4: An investigator accessing a subject's email account by guessing the password creates which main legal risk?
- Breaching attorney-client privilege
- Violating the Stored Communications Act and computer fraud statutes (Correct answer)
- Breaking the DPPA
- No risk if the evidence is relevant
Correct answer: Violating the Stored Communications Act and computer fraud statutes
Unauthorized access to stored electronic communications violates the SCA and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and can bring criminal penalties.
Question 5: Which approach BEST reduces the risk of bias affecting an investigation's findings?
- Leaving out witnesses who give conflicting statements
- Looking only for evidence that supports the client
- Relying mainly on the client's account of events
- Testing several hypotheses and documenting evidence that contradicts the client's theory (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Testing several hypotheses and documenting evidence that contradicts the client's theory
Considering alternative hypotheses and recording contrary evidence protects against confirmation bias and keeps the investigation credible.
Question 6: Why should an investigator assess the risk of cross-examination before writing a final report?
- The report and the investigator's methods may be closely examined at deposition or trial (Correct answer)
- Reports are never discoverable
- Opposing counsel cannot ask about methodology
- Cross-examination only concerns expert witnesses
Correct answer: The report and the investigator's methods may be closely examined at deposition or trial
Investigators may be called to testify, so reports must be accurate, supportable, and free of overstatement.
Question 7: A defense investigator plans to interview a minor witness. What is the MOST important risk-mitigation step?
- Get parental or guardian consent and follow state rules on interviewing minors (Correct answer)
- Interview the minor at school without notice
- Record the interview secretly
- Offer the minor a gift for cooperating
Correct answer: Get parental or guardian consent and follow state rules on interviewing minors
Interviewing minors without proper consent can create legal, ethical, and credibility problems, and offering inducements risks witness tampering claims.
