Can you work your own case? In short, yes. But let’s look at some considerations before you venture off in your surveillance vehicle. There are some steps to gathering solid evidence that will hold up in court.
You may be in one or more of the following situations:
• You suspect your spouse of cheating on you
• You have shared custody, and your children are reporting horrible things happening while with the other parent
• You are charged with a crime and feel you have been wronged by the authorities
• You have a child or loved one who is missing
• A loved one was killed, and the death was labeled “accidental” or “suicide” by the authorities
• Your business or big idea has been stolen and used by another party
• You run a business, and employees are faking injuries to draw workers compensation checks
These are the big ones you may be facing. All are legitimate and warrant an investigation. By most state laws, you have every right to ask questions, conduct legal surveillance, and conduct digital forensics. The key is to gather evidence legally and in a way that is not biased. Since you are part of the litigation or potential litigation, the biased part may not be possible.
Let’s use the adultery as an example. You suspect your husband of being involved in an affair. Your suspicions probably include turning off location settings, increased spending at lunches and dinners, unexplained absences from home, emotional separation, suspicious text messages/phone activity, or guarded phone.
Whatever the situation, you have decided you are going to catch him in the act and report it to your lawyer. Here is a list of the gear you will need:
• Video camera with a 300x digital zoom with infrared capability
• Inverter for your car
• Smartphone with timestamp camera
• Tinted windows for your car
• A different car so you won’t be identified
• Varied clothing to avoid recognition
• Laptop with word processing software
• Vehicle tracking device
• Video processing software to cut, label, and timestamp videos
There is more, but this is just a sampling. The time commitment is the big problem. You will have to get the tracker activated and placed on the car so it cannot be discovered. Then, you will have to take time off from work or watching the children to monitor the tracking app and be ready to go if he arrives someplace suspicious.
An important note here: tracker evidence alone will not help with your case. The location must be physically verified and documented with video to be admissible. I have been on the witness stand many times where the opposing attorney objected to tracker position reports on the basis of calibration and the objection was accepted by the judge. However, the opposition cannot overcome photos and videos of the subject.
Now, when you get to the place where you want to get evidence, let’s say a hotel, you must be prepared to watch the exits for 1 – 30 hours to gather evidence. How do you work that into childcare and other professional obligations?
I think you see where I am going here. There are 1,000 other factors that go in to gathering sufficient and legal evidence. The point is that you may want to look at hiring a professional before committing the time required to build a story that leads to a favorable agreement or judge’s decision.
Hiring a Professional
This is expensive in today’s market. If you find an investigator that is “cheap” meaning less than $150 per hour, I would be leary. They may be starting out on their own which is fine, but any investigator who has worked a few cases and is confident in their abilities will charge a decent fee. I would always ask for samples and testimonials, but cheap will get you in trouble or waste your money.
A professional will charge a retainer. A retainer is a fixed number of hours paid in advance. Example, an investigator may charge $200 per hour with a minimum of 10 hours. You would pay $2,000 and the investigator would work against this retainer. Unlike lawyers, most investigators have a non-refundable retainer spelled out in their contract. Do not expect an investigator to work for you for two weeks then pay you back because things didn’t work out how you liked.
Don’t get me wrong, if the investigator did nothing, you could get your money back. But, if they did the surveillance at prescribed times, did the online research, and documented everything, do not expect your money back. Investigators cannot guarantee that a subject will act in any way.
What you are paying for is time. The investigator – trained and experienced – is going to apply their time and expertise to documenting live and online activities so you don’t have to. A professional will provide timely updates and a report for your attorney to enter as evidence, or not if no suspicious activity took place.
In summary, you can work a case on your own. In my experience, many clients who tried this, came to us, and asked us to continue their work. Domestic investigation do not require a degree in forensics or anything fancy. They are time consuming and require specific tools to be successful.
Macky Outlaw
