CPI Legal & Ethical Considerations 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a 'chain of custody' document in an investigation?
- To authorize the investigator to carry a firearm
- To track the handling and possession of evidence to ensure its integrity (Correct answer)
- To establish the billing rate between client and investigator
- To outline the scope of work agreed upon with the client
Correct answer: To track the handling and possession of evidence to ensure its integrity
Chain of custody documentation tracks every person who handled evidence, preserving its integrity and admissibility in court.
Question 2: Under most state laws, recording a phone call with only one party's consent is referred to as:
- All-party consent recording
- One-party consent recording (Correct answer)
- Wiretapping
- Consensual monitoring
Correct answer: One-party consent recording
One-party consent recording requires only that one participant in the conversation (which can be the investigator) consent to the recording.
Question 3: An investigator working on a civil case is subpoenaed to testify about their findings. What is their ethical obligation regarding confidential client communications?
- Refuse to testify entirely
- Disclose all information under oath as legally required (Correct answer)
- Only disclose information that supports the client's position
- Claim attorney-client privilege on behalf of the attorney who hired them
Correct answer: Disclose all information under oath as legally required
Investigators must comply with lawful subpoenas and provide truthful testimony, even if it involves confidential case information.
Question 4: Which of the following actions would most likely constitute civil liability for an investigator conducting surveillance?
- Photographing a subject at a public mall
- Installing a hidden camera inside a subject's private bathroom (Correct answer)
- Observing a subject from a public sidewalk
- Documenting a subject's activities at an outdoor restaurant
Correct answer: Installing a hidden camera inside a subject's private bathroom
Installing surveillance equipment in a location where the subject has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a bathroom, constitutes invasion of privacy.
Question 5: The legal concept of 'reasonable expectation of privacy' most directly determines:
- Whether an investigator needs a license to conduct surveillance
- Whether covert observation or recording in a particular location is lawful (Correct answer)
- The amount of compensation an investigator can charge
- Whether a client must disclose the reason for hiring an investigator
Correct answer: Whether covert observation or recording in a particular location is lawful
Courts use the reasonable expectation of privacy standard to determine whether surveillance or recording activities violate privacy laws.
Question 6: A CPI investigator is asked by a client to obtain a subject's private bank records through deception. The investigator should:
- Proceed if the client provides written authorization
- Decline because obtaining records through deception likely violates the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Correct answer)
- Attempt to obtain the records and let the client decide how to use them
- Outsource the task to avoid direct legal exposure
Correct answer: Decline because obtaining records through deception likely violates the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act prohibits using false pretenses to obtain private financial records, making this request illegal.
Question 7: What does 'spoliation of evidence' refer to in the context of an investigation?
- Contaminating a crime scene with an investigator's fingerprints
- The intentional or negligent destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence (Correct answer)
- Presenting evidence out of chronological order in a report
- Failing to photograph evidence before moving it
Correct answer: The intentional or negligent destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence
Spoliation of evidence is the destruction or significant alteration of evidence, which can result in serious legal and ethical consequences.
CPI Legal & Ethical Considerations 3
What is the primary purpose of a 'chain of custody' document in an investigation?