I am trying to get my PI license, to prevent issues down the road.
Anyone a PI in Pennsylvania, I would appreciate a private message or here to get some details regarding what are the requirements, steps, etc.
I'd appreciate it if you'd post a sanitized (ie, no case-specific info) list of the reqs.
NB I received a laptop from PA this week as part of a domestic case. The client couldn't find anyone in PA, so they Googled and found my website. Although I'm currently only licensed in SC, if a client ships evidence to me, then the case officially starts in my SC office.
8)
Greetings,
Odd that you say "Although I'm currently only licensed in SC, if a client ships evidence to me, then the case officially starts in my SC office." when someone from SC was arguing on the HTCIA list that any out of state examiner receiving evidence from SC still requires an SC PI license.
The PI laws are a mess….
-David
Greetings,
Odd that you say "Although I'm currently only licensed in SC, if a client ships evidence to me, then the case officially starts in my SC office." when someone from SC was arguing on the HTCIA list that any out of state examiner receiving evidence from SC still requires an SC PI license.
The PI laws are a mess….
-David
Earlier today, a California attorney called me for my rate to do an imaging job in SC. He manifested a wee bit of aggravation that his firm needed to hire a SC-licensed PI to do the work 'so that it would be admissible in (SC) Court.' He added, "It must be nice for YOU guys!"
What can I say? I gave him a quote and we'll see….
It just chaps my @$$ that lawyers who command $300/$400/$500 an hour have the cojones to complain about our rates. x
Greetings,
Odd that you say "Although I'm currently only licensed in SC, if a client ships evidence to me, then the case officially starts in my SC office." when someone from SC was arguing on the HTCIA list that any out of state examiner receiving evidence from SC still requires an SC PI license.
The PI laws are a mess….
-David
Agreed. Actually, the requirement in SC applies to acquisition of the evidence, only, and as long as you didn't need to testify in State court, there isn't much that SC can do about it. I have been a expert in a couple of different matters in SC Federal Court and not required to be a SC licensed PI.
Also, the SC law exempts attorneys (strange, that one).
And you don't need a PI license in PA to practice computer forensics.
Greetings,
According to the HTCIA post and several followup posts, the SC law applies to evidence acquisition *and* analysis. I'd repost it here, but that'd violate the HTCIA list rules unfortunately.
-David
Greetings,
According to the HTCIA post… the SC law applies to evidence acquisition *and* analysis. I'd repost it here, but….
-David
I've read the law, and my understanding is that analysis performed outside of SC (and intended for use in non-SC Courts) does NOT require a PI license from our State. The collection of the evidence, however, must be performed by a SC PI.
The situation is different if the results of the analysis are to be presented in SC Courts. In that scenario, both collection and analysis must be done by a SC PI. Standard Disclaimer IANAL. (We need a better acronym for this! oops )
I've been contracted several times by firms in other States to *only* image a drive and send the copy somewhere else for analysis for use in "foreign" Courts.
Wow, if the *analyst* must also be SC-licensed, I've been leaving money on the table!
As I have read the law, it applies to the "collection of digital evidence" and the intended purpose was to address supposed issues related to improper evidence handling. The law does not preclude presentation of expert testimony by a witness who is not an SC private eye and probably couldn't.
If I (as I have), prepared a report on evidence I analyzed in Pittsburgh and sign affidavits based upon that report and am deposed in Pittsburgh, these are all a matter of Court records over which SC has no jurisdiction.
Any testimony that I would give in SC would be based upon work that was legally completed Pennsylvania under PA jurisdiction. I'm not practicing in SC, I'm simply testifying as to what I did in PA.
First time someone gets tripped on that one, I'd expect to see an appeal to the Supreme Court and possibly the US Supreme Court on the basis of the Interstate Commerce Clause.