Legal Investigations
Informant Interviews
Independent investigation of an informant’s statement - who they are, what they actually witnessed, and what they were expecting in return.
- #1 Private Investigator in Texas
- Texas License #12818
- Twenty-five years of experience
- Marine veteran owned
- Statewide Texas coverage
- Free confidential consultation
What this is
Informant Interviews, in plain terms.
An informant statement can carry a whole prosecution, which is exactly why it deserves scrutiny. The questions are consistent: does this person have a history of giving statements, what were they facing when they gave this one, and could they have been where they say they were.
None of that is an accusation. It is the ordinary work of establishing whether an account is reliable, and it is work that has to be done from outside the file. Counsel cannot go and knock on the doors. An investigator can.
The work
What actually gets done.
- Establish the informant’s identity, history and prior cooperation.
- Test the account against the physical facts and the timeline.
- Identify and interview people the account depends on.
- Examine motive: charges pending, consideration offered, relationships to the parties.
- Document inconsistencies between the statement and the record.
- Report where the account holds up, as clearly as where it does not.
Legal Investigations
Built for the file, not for the story.
Statements taken on the assumption somebody will ask how. Chain of custody maintained. An investigator who can be put on the stand to speak to his own work.
What you get
At the end of it.
- A written analysis of the statement against the documented facts.
- Supporting interviews and records.
- A background workup on the informant.
- A straight assessment, including when the account appears sound.
When people call
The three situations we hear most.
A case rests on cooperation
When the evidence is substantially one person’s word, that person is the case.
The timeline does not work
An account that cannot fit the physical facts is the most productive thing an investigator can be handed.
There is undisclosed consideration
What somebody was offered bears directly on what their account is worth.
Questions
About this service.
Do you contact the informant?
Only where it is lawful and appropriate, and always with counsel’s direction. In a pending criminal matter there are rules about that and we follow them.
Is this only for defense attorneys?
Mostly, but not only. Anyone relying on an informant’s account benefits from knowing whether it will survive being examined.
What if the statement checks out?
Then you know that before trial rather than during it, which changes strategy just as usefully.
Is the first conversation really free?
Yes, and it is confidential. You describe the situation, we tell you whether an investigation is likely to help, roughly what it would involve and what it would cost. There is no charge for that call and no obligation at the end of it.
More in this area
Other services in Legal Investigations.
Where we work
Four metros, and the rest of Texas.
Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio are where most cases start. Coverage runs to the whole state, and records and asset work is run nationally.
Free consultation
Tell us what is going on. The first call is free.
Describe the situation and we will tell you honestly whether an investigation would help, what it would involve and what it would cost. Confidential, no obligation, and no charge for the conversation.