FL Private Investigator flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Class C License

Florida private investigator license under Chapter 493; requires age 18, citizenship or legal residency, and two years (4,000 hours) of verifiable full-time investigative experience or equivalent education.

Class CC Intern License

Florida investigator intern license requiring sponsorship by a Class C licensee and 40 hours of professional training; the intern may not conduct investigations independently.

Class A Agency License

Florida license authorizing a business entity to provide private investigative services for hire; the agency must have a licensed Class M manager in charge.

Class G Firearm License

Florida statewide firearm license required for an investigator to carry a firearm on duty; it requires 28 hours of firearms training and affiliation with a licensed agency.

FDACS Division of Licensing

The bureau inside Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that licenses, regulates, and disciplines private investigators, agencies, and security officers under Chapter 493.

Two-Party Consent

Florida rule under s. 934.03 that all participants must consent before an oral communication made with a reasonable expectation of privacy may be intercepted or recorded.

Grounds for License Discipline

Section 493.6118 lists conduct authorizing denial, suspension, or revocation, including fraud, false statements to the Division, and willful disclosure of confidential client information.

Florida Sunshine Law

Chapter 119 public records law requiring state and local agencies to make records available for inspection and copying; exemptions include active criminal investigative information.

DPPA Permissible Purpose

Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act rule limiting access to motor vehicle records to listed purposes such as litigation, insurance, and licensed investigative work.

GLBA Pretexting Ban

15 U.S.C. 6821 makes it a federal crime to obtain a customer's financial information from a financial institution by false pretenses.

Skip Trace

Locating a subject's current address or whereabouts by correlating public records, utility and credit-header data, and interviews, then confirming the result through independent corroborating sources.

Chain of Custody

A continuous written record of every person who handled an item of evidence, including date, time, and purpose of each transfer, used to prove integrity at trial.

Miranda Inapplicable to PIs

Miranda warnings are required only for custodial interrogation by government agents; a private investigator is not a state actor and need not give them.

FCRA Employment Report

When an investigative report is used for employment decisions, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires disclosure, written authorization, and pre-adverse-action notice to the consumer.

All-Party Consent Recording

In Florida, recording a private oral conversation without every participant's consent violates s. 934.03, a third-degree felony, and the recording is generally inadmissible.

Rolling Surveillance

A following technique in which multiple investigators or vehicles alternate positions to keep the subject under observation without being detected.

Burned Surveillance

A condition in which the subject realizes he or she is being followed; the team must break off or hand off to protect the investigation and investigator safety.

Silent Witness Authentication

Authenticating photographs or video by proving a reliable, tamper-resistant camera system and documented custody, instead of testimony from the person who took them.

Video Voyeurism

Florida s. 810.145 offense of capturing images of another person in a location where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Surveillance Log

A contemporaneous field record of time, location, weather, vehicles, persons present, and activity observed that later supports the written report and courtroom testimony.

Work Product Doctrine

Florida protection for materials prepared by or for a party's representative, such as an investigator hired by counsel, in anticipation of litigation.

Business Records Exception

Evidence rule 90.803(6) exception admitting records made in the regular course of business, at or near the time of the event, by someone with knowledge.

Hearsay

Under s. 90.801, an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted; it is inadmissible unless an exception or exclusion applies.

Litigation Hold

A directive to preserve all notes, recordings, and files once litigation is reasonably anticipated; destroying material after a hold may result in court sanctions.

Contemporaneous Notes

Field notes recorded during or immediately after an activity; originals are retained because they may be subpoenaed and used to refresh or impeach testimony.

Objective Report Writing

Reporting only observed facts and clearly labeling any opinion, so the report remains credible and the investigator can defend each statement under cross-examination.

Daubert Standard

Florida s. 90.702 test for expert testimony: the opinion must rest on sufficient facts, reliable principles and methods, and a reliable application to the facts.

Lay Opinion Testimony

Section 90.701 permits a non-expert to give opinions rationally based on perception, helpful to the fact-finder, and not based on scientific or technical knowledge.

Authentication

Section 90.901 requires evidence sufficient to support a finding that an item is what its proponent claims before the item may be admitted into evidence.

False Personation of Officer

Florida s. 843.08 makes it a felony to impersonate a law enforcement officer; investigators must never claim police authority during an interview or contact.

Subpoena Compliance

A subpoena compels testimony or production of records; the recipient must comply or move to quash, because noncompliance is punishable as contempt of court.

Prior Inconsistent Statement

Section 90.608 allows a witness to be impeached with an earlier statement inconsistent with current testimony, often using the investigator's preserved notes.