Competence
Competence covers the technical and legal base you bring to the job and, just as importantly, whether you know the edge of your own knowledge. The exam tests it through scenario items that require naming the correct authority, following procedure in sequence, and recognizing when to call the prosecutor or a senior agent instead of improvising.
Core knowledge the items draw on
- Controlled substances statutes. Title 21 offenses such as possession with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. 841 and conspiracy under 846, plus the distinction between the substantive count and the agreement count.
- Fourth Amendment. Warrant requirement and its exceptions, knock-and-announce practice under Richards v. Wisconsin, consent scope and voluntariness, exigency, plain view, and search incident to arrest.
- Affidavit accuracy. Under Franks v. Delaware, a deliberately false or recklessly disregarded statement in a warrant affidavit can suppress the evidence. Competence includes verifying a source's basis of knowledge before swearing to it.
- Wiretap work. Title III applications require necessity, minimization, and Department approval; the necessity showing must describe what less intrusive techniques were tried or why they would fail.
- Case craft. Report writing, exhibit organization, discovery production, and fitness and firearms currency are all part of the competence record.
Worked example
You are helping draft an affidavit and the source's claim about kilogram quantities rests on a single overheard remark you have not corroborated. The competent response is to flag the gap to the prosecutor, describe the corroboration you do have, and either gather more or narrow the affidavit to what is supported. The reasoning: swearing to a fact you cannot support invites a Franks challenge that can take down the entire search, and the prosecutor cannot fix an overstated affidavit after the fact.
Traps that cost marks
- Citing a policy or case without being able to state what it requires.
- Presenting a confident answer where the correct behavior is to escalate or ask.
- Skipping the necessity showing by asserting that normal techniques would not work.
- Treating training and qualification records as a formality rather than evidence of currency.