Interview & Interrogation Techniques Flashcards
7 cards from real FBI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Interview & Interrogation Techniques flashcards as text
Under the Sixth Amendment, once formal charges are been filed, law enforcement may NOT deliberately elicit incriminating statements from the defendant without:
Answer: The presence or waiver of defense counsel
Massiah v. United States established that post-indictment deliberate elicitation without counsel violates the Sixth Amendment right to representation.
The phenomenon of 'memory conformity' is a concern during joint witness interviews because:
Answer: One witness's account can contaminate and alter another witness's independent recollection
When witnesses discuss events together or are interviewed simultaneously, the dominant narrative can overwrite individual memories, reducing the independence of accounts.
An investigator notices that a subject's response latency (time to answer) increases significantly when asked about a specific date. This behavioral indicator is best interpreted as:
Answer: A single cue warranting further probing but not standalone deception determination
Increased latency may reflect deception, careful thought, or cognitive load; it should prompt follow-up questions rather than serve as a standalone deception conclusion.
When conducting a non-custodial interview of a person of interest, Miranda warnings are NOT required because:
Answer: Miranda applies only when there is both custody and interrogation
The Supreme Court in Berkemer v. McCarty and Miranda v. Arizona established that both custody and interrogation must be present; a non-custodial setting eliminates the custody prong.
The 'self-referencing effect' in memory research suggests that interviewers can enhance witness recall by:
Answer: Encouraging witnesses to connect details to personal experiences or emotions during the event
Information encoded in relation to oneself is processed more deeply and retrieved more readily, making self-referential prompts an effective cognitive interview tool.
A suspect invokes their right to counsel mid-interrogation. The legally correct response under Edwards v. Arizona is to:
Answer: Immediately cease all questioning until counsel is present or the suspect re-initiates contact
Edwards v. Arizona requires that once a suspect invokes the right to counsel, all interrogation must stop and cannot resume unless counsel is present or the suspect voluntarily re-initiates communication.
'Confirmation bias' is a significant risk during pre-interview suspect assessment because it can cause investigators to:
Answer: Selectively interpret ambiguous behaviors as deceptive when they already suspect guilt
Confirmation bias leads investigators to seek evidence that confirms their existing suspicion while discounting contradictory information, threatening investigative objectivity.