TN Private Investigator flashcards

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

Private Investigators Licensing Act

Tennessee's statutory framework, codified at Tenn. Code Ann. Title 62, Chapter 26, Part 2, that licenses and regulates private investigators, investigation companies, and polygraph examiners.

Private Investigation and Polygraph Commission

The Tennessee board within the Department of Commerce and Insurance that issues, renews, suspends, and revokes investigator licenses and adopts the rules implementing the licensing act.

Unlicensed investigative activity

Furnishing investigative services for compensation without a valid Tennessee license is a statutory violation that exposes the actor to criminal penalties and to Commission enforcement action.

Scope of regulated activity

Licensure is required to furnish information for hire about a person's identity, habits, conduct, business, whereabouts, affiliations, or character for a client.

Statutory exemptions

The Act exempts certain persons from licensure, including attorneys and their employees, insurers and adjusters acting in the ordinary course, and government employees performing official duties.

Grounds for discipline

The Commission may deny, suspend, or revoke a license for fraud in obtaining it, conviction of specified crimes, and other dishonest or unprofessional conduct listed in the statute.

Case plan elements

A written plan stating the client's objective, scope, legal constraints, budget, timeline, information sources, and the evidence required to prove each element of the claim.

Elements of proof

The specific facts a party must establish to prevail; investigators map each element to available evidence and identify gaps before fieldwork begins.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to seek and interpret information that supports an existing theory; investigators counter it by actively pursuing and documenting disconfirming evidence.

Open source intelligence

Information lawfully gathered from public sources such as court indexes, property records, business filings, social media, and news archives, without deception or unauthorized access.

Investigative sequence

A standard order of effort: records and background checks first, then witness canvassing, then physical or digital evidence, reserving contact with the subject for last.

Lawful access limit

Investigators may use public records and observe from public places but may not trespass, hack systems, or obtain protected records through pretext or bribery.

Chain of custody

The documented, unbroken record of who collected, handled, transferred, and stored an item from seizure through trial, used to show the item is unaltered.

Evidence log entries

Each entry records item number, description, date, time, location, collector, and every transfer, with signatures of the releasing and receiving parties.

Sealing evidence

Packaging is sealed and the collector writes initials and date across the seal so that any later opening or tampering becomes visible to subsequent handlers.

Digital evidence hashing

Computing a SHA-256 or MD5 value when data is first acquired; a later matching hash demonstrates that the working copy is identical to the original.

Best evidence rule

When a document's contents are at issue, the original writing is required unless an exception applies; copies must be authenticated and their provenance explained.

Spoliation

Loss or destruction of evidence a party had a duty to preserve, typically after litigation is reasonably anticipated; it can result in sanctions or an adverse inference.

Biological evidence packaging

Items bearing blood, saliva, or other biological material are air-dried and packaged in paper, because plastic traps moisture and promotes degradation and mold.

Static surveillance

Fixed observation of a location from a concealed position; it is best for documenting arrivals, departures, and routines at a known address.

Mobile surveillance

Following a subject's vehicle, typically with a multi-vehicle team that rotates positions and hands off to avoid being detected by the subject.

Surveillance log

A contemporaneous record of time, location, subject activity, and vehicles observed, with the reason noted for every gap in observation.

Cognitive interview

A witness technique that reinstates mental context, asks for everything remembered, and requests recall in varied orders to surface additional detail.

Leading questions

Questions that suggest the desired answer; they are avoided in early witness questioning because they contaminate memory and weaken later testimony.

Miranda in private work

Miranda warnings bind government agents; a private investigator generally need not give them unless acting as an instrument of the police.

Report objectivity

Reports state observable facts and attributed statements in chronological order, distinguishing what the investigator personally saw from what others said, without conclusions.

Impersonating law enforcement

A licensed investigator may not display a badge, uniform, or vehicle marking implying police authority, and may not claim to be a law enforcement officer.

Client confidentiality

Information learned during an engagement is disclosed only to the client and to persons with a legal need to know, unless a court order requires otherwise.

Conflict of interest

An engagement that requires serving two adverse parties, or in which the investigator has a personal stake, must be disclosed and declined or withdrawn from.

GLBA pretexting ban

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act bars obtaining a person's financial information by false pretenses, a prohibition that reaches investigators seeking bank or account records.

DPPA restrictions

The Driver's Privacy Protection Act limits access to motor vehicle records to permitted purposes such as litigation, licensed investigation, and insurance claims.

Contingency fee limits

Billing a percentage of the client's recovery ties investigator pay to the outcome and is restricted or prohibited; time-and-expense billing is the standard practice.