Constitutional Rights and Rules of Evidence
Constitutional limits and evidence rules determine whether the work product survives a motion to suppress or an objection at trial. The exam tests the state-action doctrine, Miranda's real scope, Louisiana's independent privacy clause, and the Code of Evidence framework.
State action is the hinge
- The Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule binds government. A PI working for a private client is ordinarily not a state actor, so evidence from a private search is generally admissible.
- That changes when police direct, request, or significantly participate in the PI's conduct: the investigator becomes an instrument of the state and the warrant requirement reattaches. Document who directed each step.
- Louisiana Constitution art. I, §5 protects privacy independently, and the tort of invasion of privacy exists regardless of the Fourth Amendment.
Miranda and voluntariness
- Miranda applies to custodial interrogation by law enforcement. A private investigator need not warn - but coerced statements are unreliable, invite suppression and civil suit, and can end a license.
- The Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at formal proceedings; questioning a represented defendant can become obstruction.
Evidence map
- Relevance (La. C.E. art. 401), balancing (403), authentication (901), best evidence (1002), hearsay (801) and exceptions (803: present sense impression, excited utterance, business records; 804: unavailable declarants).
- Your case file can qualify as a business record if it was made contemporaneously in the regular course of business.
Worked example
A cooperating witness hands over a phone containing text messages. No Fourth Amendment problem arises without state action, but admissibility still needs authentication under art. 901 - a witness who identifies the phone and the thread - plus a hearsay exception or a non-hearsay purpose. Accessing the account itself may violate the Stored Communications Act; possession is not authorization.
Traps
- Believing Miranda warnings are required in every interview.
- Assuming private search means no foundation is needed.
- Thinking attorney-client privilege covers your file - it protects the client's communications with counsel; work product is a separate, waivable protection.