Legal Principles and Professional Ethics
Core concepts
Surveyors must understand boundary law principles, the role of the surveyor as an expert witness, and ethical duties to the public and clients. Key doctrines include adverse possession, prescription, estoppel, and the hierarchy of evidence. Ethics questions test honesty, competence, disclosure of conflicts, and accurate representation of results.
Traps
Questions often present a scenario where a client pressures the surveyor to move a boundary to suit them-the correct answer is to follow the evidence. Another trap is confusing adverse possession (title to land) with prescriptive easement (right of use). Also watch for questions on the surveyor's duty when discovering an error in a prior survey.
Worked example
A client asks you to place a fence line where they believe the boundary should be rather than where the evidence places it. The ethical response is to locate the boundary from evidence and explain the result, not to accommodate the client's preference.
Rule of thumb
Follow the evidence and document it; never let client preference alter a boundary determination.