Legal Research for Private Investigators: A List of Popular Resources

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Legal Research
Online Legal and Law Resources

This article covers legal research for private investigators. Private investigation work touches on many different aspects of the law. Private investigators and police officers encounter situations related to legal issues such as personal rights, privacy laws, marital disputes, electronic surveillance, and many more.

Having a clear understanding of the laws and regulations that govern different types of investigations will help you operate within the constraints of the law and keep yourself out of trouble.

In addition, many clients work directly with attorneys and lawyers regarding process serving, background checks, surveillance, and many other jobs. Therefore, private investigators must have excellent working knowledge of the law.

Bar Associations

In general, a bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for regulating the legal profession in their jurisdiction. Other bar associations are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members. And in many cases, they serve as both.

In many jurisdictions, the “bar association” is comprised of lawyers who are qualified as barristers or advocates (collectively known as “the bar”, or members of the bar). In contrast, the “law society” comprises solicitors. These bodies are sometimes mutually exclusive. In other jurisdictions, the “bar” may refer to the entire community of persons engaged in law practice.

American Bar Association (ABA)

The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers, attorneys, and law students.  The organization’s mission is “To serve equally our members, our profession, and the public by defending liberty and delivering justice as the national representative of the legal profession.” The American Bar Association helps set law school standards and ethical codes.

The association is a great resource for learning law and legal matters. Larger investigative agencies may have investigators on staff that are also attorneys and lawyers. In that situation, it would be helpful for the agency to become a member of the organization to take advantage of its resources. This will also help speed the process of obtaining information when needed. For more information on the bar:

  • Visit the American Bar Association’s official website. The website provides information on various ABA groups, lawyer resources, the latest news relevant to the legal industry, and career information.
  • Visit the ABA Journal website for information on the latest legal headlines, sample articles, blogs, and podcasts. The site is an excellent resource for learning about the law.
  • Legal Forms – A list of various legal forms.

State Bar Associations

A directory of State Bar Associations is available on the American Bar Association (ABA) website. To locate a particular association, click on the appropriate state on the map. A list of state associations will be provided, which includes the name, address, phone number, fax, and email address (if available). This list also provides a link to the individual website for more detailed information.

Private Investigators may find state bar associations useful for locating attorneys, as the associations maintain a directory of the attorneys for their state. Private Investigators often need to track down attorneys assigned to particular cases or who may know a witness or related case.

Also, they are a great place to check to see if an attorney has any ethical violations or has been disciplined for any reason.

Attorneys, Lawyers, and Law Firms

Black’s Law Dictionary defines a lawyer as “a person learned in the law; an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law.” More generally, an attorney is a professional person authorized to practice law, conduct lawsuits, give legal advice, and/or represent others in legal matters. 

Private investigators often form relationships with local attorneys as a source of business. Private investigators often perform investigative legwork such as tracking down and interviewing witnesses, service of process, and uncovering information and data.

  • Attorney Pages – The Attorney Pages website helps you locate an attorney.
  • Lawyers.com – Search for an attorney, get answers to your legal questions, and download do-it-yourself legal forms.

Expert Witnesses

Read our article about expert witnesses and how to use online directories to connect with experts for your case.


List of Criminal Competencies and Corresponding Court Cases

The following list of criminal competencies:

Competency to Consent to a Search or Seizure
Mapp versus Ohio
Katz vs. the United States
Florida vs. Rodriguez

Competency to Stand Trial
Dusky vs. the United States
Panetti vs. Quarterman

Competency to Waive Right to Competency
The United States versus Morin

Competency to Consent to a Search or Seizure
Fourth Amendment

Competency to Confess
Brown vs. Mississippi
Miranda vs. Arizona
Colorado vs. Connelly

Competency to Plead Guilty
Seiling vs. Eyman
Godinez vs. Moran
Godinez, Warden vs. Moran

Competency to Waive the Right to Counsel
Godinez vs. Moran
McKaskle vs. Wiggins
Faretta vs. California

Competency to Refuse an Insanity Defense
Whalem vs. the United States
Frendak vs. the United States

Competency to Testify
Legal Requirements for Testimonial Competence
Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 601

Assessment of Witness Credibility
Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 508

Competency to Be Sentenced and Executed
Saddler vs. the United States

Competency at the Sentencing Proceedings
Chavez vs. the United States

Competency to Be Imprisoned or Executed
Ford vs. Wainwright
Penry vs. Lynaugh

Competency to Refuse Treatment
Perry vs. Louisiana

If you’re beginning to research legal topics, here is a helpful site: Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. The site provides summaries of law topics with links to critical primary source material, other Internet resources, and valuable off-net references. They can be accessed through the following broad topic categories (scroll down), an alphabetical listing of topics, and a searchable index.

Many private investigators, legal professionals, and even journalists encounter situations where they need to tape a witness statement or record audio. In such situations, the website Can We Tape is a practical guide to taping phone calls and in-person conversations in the United States.

FindLaw is the highest-trafficked legal Web site, providing the most comprehensive set of online legal resources for legal professionals, businesses, students, and individuals. These resources include Web search utilities, cases and codes, legal news, an online career center, and community-oriented tools, such as a secure document management utility, mailing lists, message boards, and free e-mail.

Law Engine provides resources on various law topics such as courts, cases, federal codes and rules, law libraries, and legal products and services.

Law Guru was initially started in 1996 by a Los Angeles law firm and has evolved into one of the most popular online legal websites. It is offered as a free service to the entire Internet Community.

LawInfo.com is recognized nationwide as a leader within the legal community, providing public access to pre-qualified, pre-screened attorneys and free legal resources.

Lawyers.com allows you to search for and hire an attorney locally. Search by city and state or by law specialty.

Martindale-Hubble

The U.S. Federal Courts provide online access to federal court records, news, statistics, and more.

Other Resources

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