Regulatory Compliance & Legal Framework Flashcards

A private investigator is conducting fixed surveillance from a public sidewalk and captures video of a subject inside their home through an open window. What is the MOST significant legal risk?

Answer: Some states impose additional legal liability for capturing private activities inside a residence even from a public vantage point

Many states have voyeurism or peeping tom statutes that prohibit recording private activities inside a home even when captured from a public location, creating liability beyond federal law.

Which of the following actions by a private investigator would most likely constitute 'tortious interference with business relations'?

Answer: Intentionally contacting a subject's clients with false information to harm their business during an investigation

Tortious interference requires intentional and improper acts that disrupt existing business relationships, such as spreading false information to a subject's clients to damage their commercial relationships.

Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which activity by an investigator would most clearly constitute a federal violation?

Answer: Accessing a subject's email account using a password obtained without authorization

The CFAA prohibits unauthorized access to protected computers, including accessing another person's email or accounts without permission, regardless of investigative intent.

A civil attorney retains a private investigator to locate witnesses and gather facts. Which doctrine may protect the investigator's work product from opposing discovery?

Answer: The work product doctrine, which protects materials prepared in anticipation of litigation from disclosure

Work product doctrine (Hickman v. Taylor; FRCP 26(b)(3)) protects materials, including investigator reports, prepared in anticipation of litigation from compelled disclosure to opposing parties.

In the context of CPI standards, 'due diligence' in a corporate investigation most accurately means:

Answer: Conducting a thorough, reasonable inquiry using accepted investigative methods appropriate to the risk and scope

Due diligence requires investigators to apply reasonable, thorough methods commensurate with the nature and risk of the matter, meeting a professional standard of care.

Which of the following best describes the legal significance of 'consent' in a one-party consent state regarding audio recording of a conversation?

Answer: Any party in the conversation may legally record it without notifying the other parties

In one-party consent states, a single participant in a conversation (including the investigator or their informant) may legally record that conversation without notifying the other parties.

An investigator is subpoenaed to produce investigative records in a civil case. The client instructs the investigator to destroy those records. What should the investigator do?

Answer: Refuse to destroy the records, as doing so would constitute obstruction of justice and spoliation of evidence

Destroying evidence after receiving a subpoena constitutes spoliation of evidence and obstruction of justice, exposing both the investigator and client to criminal and civil sanctions.