Investigators Goals

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Investigators' Goals

In conducting an investigation, the goals of investigators, whether corporate or private, or law enforcement agents, are basically the same. They focus on professionally and legally collecting evidence. If the evidence is not collected within legal constraints, it is not admissible in legal proceedings, and any information derived from tainted evidence is going to be excluded. Books, movies, and television stories often do not accurately depict the process. If an officer or corporate investigator violates the law, regulations, or even the organization's policies, the investigator may be prosecuted and sued into oblivion, and any evidence collected or viewed is worthless.

Experience Note 

Law enforcement officers and those acting under the direction of law enforcement have a special burden because they may be sued for violating someone's rights in their evidence-searching efforts. Consequently, they might be held civilly liable for their acts under the legal decision Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388, (1971). Briefly, this is a civil case where the civil petitioner, Bivens (plaintiff) alleged that agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (unnamed defendants) acted under color of federal authority when they searched his apartment without a warrant and arrested him. Bivens was allegedly subjected to humiliation, embarrassment, and mental suffering and further alleged the agents had exercised unreasonable force. He sought $15,000 in the way of damages from each one of the agents. After hearing the matter, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the agents were not immune from civil action and that the petitioner was entitled to recover money damages for any injuries he suffered resulting from the agents violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.

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