{"id":29399,"date":"2022-03-05T16:13:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T16:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=29399"},"modified":"2022-03-05T16:13:55","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T16:13:55","slug":"interrogating-the-regulation-of-private-investigators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/05\/interrogating-the-regulation-of-private-investigators\/","title":{"rendered":"Interrogating the Regulation of Private Investigators"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Surveillance<\/div>\n
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Scholars discuss regulation of the private investigation industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If private investigators collect information from your Facebook account, can they share it with their client seeking legal action against you?<\/p>\n

In the United States, the answer to this question depends<\/a> on the constitutional limitations of the Fourth Amendment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What if investigators obtained information illegally and fail to tell the law firm that hired them how they got the information?<\/p>\n

This activity would likely breach the lawyer\u2019s professional responsibility obligations because the Model Rules of Professional Conduct hold<\/a> lawyers liable for the conduct of the third parties they supervise.<\/p>\n

Many lawyers and large law firms hire<\/a> private investigators to gather information related to litigation. These private investigators may use<\/a> social media sleuthing, GPS tracking, or sometimes other covert strategies such as pretexting<\/a>\u2014the practice of using disguise to gain information from a target\u2014to gather intel for their client. The legality of lawyers\u2019 use of private investigators who engage in some of these more deceptive behaviors is widely debated<\/a> across U.S. jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

Despite the high stakes and complicated legal rules, some private investigators legitimately operate<\/a> without licenses or formal training. As of 2019, just over 96,000 private investigators were employed<\/a> in the United States. The federal government does not regulate the private surveillance industry, and state-level regulation of these investigators varies widely. Most states such as New York require<\/a> private investigators to apply for and maintain licenses, but other states, such as Idaho, do not regulate<\/a> private investigators at the state level.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers outside of the United States also inconsistently regulate private investigators. Experts in other countries have expressed<\/a> concerns about the lack of regulation of the private surveillance industry.<\/p>\n

In this week\u2019s Saturday Seminar, we survey recent scholarship by experts examining the regulation of the private surveillance industry across the world.<\/p>\n