Trial Preparation

Stough International offers trial preparation. Don't count on your attorney to handle every aspect of your case. Private investigators are frequently used in trial preparation to help you win your case!

What is Trial Preparation?
Trial preparation involves gathering and preparing the raw material for a court or hearing. Trial or hearing preparation can include evidence gathering, forensic investigation, private investigations, evidence analysis, preparing witness testimony, creation of investigation reports, medical investigations, criminal investigations, and many other assets. Effective trial preparation can be essential to winning a case, so it should never be ignored.

But won't my lawyer take care of trial preparation?
Unfortunately, many people lose important court cases because they assume that their attorney will take care of all the details before a hearing or court case. The attorney's job, however, is to prepare the material at hand. If there is not enough evidence for your case your lawyer may simply not be able to prepare a strong legal argument. By taking the process of trial preparation into your own hands through the hiring of a qualified investigative professional, you can drastically improve the chances of success in court.

How do I know if I need additional trial preparation from an investigative expert?
If your attorney is not completely sure that you will win your court case, you should hire a private investigator, who may be able to uncover evidence to help you. In fact, if there is any chance that you may not get the outcome you want in court, why take the chance? Appeals and additional trials are costly and time consuming. A private investigator can help you get the proof you need for your hearing or court date.

How can a private investigator help with trial preparation?
A private investigator can help with surveillance and background checks of suspects. An investigator can help with witness interviews, evidence gathering, and can even help find missing persons. A qualified investigator can even act as an expert witness on your behalf. In short, an investigator can help your attorney get the raw material needed to win your case.

Source: PI Now

Why do I need a Private Investigator?

Private investigation is not just stuff for the movies anymore. There are 101 reasons to use a private investigator. Our service is top notch, but in case you don't know why you might need one, here are just a handful of examples from this week's top headlines around the country:

• Perhaps you are a city official who believes your fire department has committed some violations and need an objective third party opinion to read into the details, while maintaining the strictest confidences such as the mayor of Gardiner, Maine. Source: Kennebec Journal
• Maybe you are a veterinarian who has lost his beloved dog like Dr. O'Banian. Source: CBS4 
• It could be that you think someone has been eavesdropping on your private telephone conversations as in the case of homeowners as reported in the New York Times.
• Hopefully you are not the family member or friend of a missing child who is presumed to be dead, but no body has been found, or maybe you work with the police department as in the case of Jhessye Shockley in Glendale, Arizona. Source: Arizona Central Or in the kidnapping and murder case of Holly Pirrainen of Boston, Massachusets. Source: Fox Boston 

Private Investigator vs. Private Detective?

Is there a difference between a Private Investigator and a Private Detective?

That depends on the state private investigator licensing laws for your state. In many states, the words ‘private investigator’ and ‘private detective’ are interchangeable, but in some states there actually is a difference in their accepted meaning. For example, in New Jersey those who want to become a private investigator must adhere to the licensing laws as detailed in the Private Detective Act of 1939. The person who has the prerequisite investigative experience is called the ‘qualifier’ and when the New Jersey State Police Private Detective Unit issues the license, the qualifier is actually classified as a Licensed Private Detective. The owner of a licensed detective agency may hire employees, who when properly registered with the state licensing authority, the investigative employees are classified as a Private Investigator.

Historically, the profession of non-law enforcement investigations started back with Pinkerton in the late 1800’s. At that time the term “private detective” was the formal name and the outfit they worked for was called a “detective agency.” There were many movies and books that began using the “private-eye” moniker more and more. It was television starting in the 1974 with James Garner in the Rockford Files that really brought the investigative profession into the limelight. The show also had a major influence on most people using the private investigator title. The P.I. title became famous with the Magnum, P.I. television show featuring Tom Selleck.

Starting around 1960, many states did not want the public to confuse a private detective with that of a police detective. There has been a trend amongst many state licensing authorities and state investigative associations to use the title ‘private investigator’ as compared to ‘private detective’. In fact, many have actually taken legal steps to stop using the “detective” title.

Source: PI Magazine

Legal Services

If you've been following our blog, you know that Stough International is a private investigator service that offers many different services for your personal and corporate needs, but did you know we offer a host of legal services as well?

The following legal services are currently available:

• Criminal
• Civil
• Service Process
• Litigation Support and Intelligence
• Criminal Records
• Trial Preparation
• Courthouse Research
• Hidden Asset Search
• Bankruptcies
• Liens
• Judgments
• Skip Tracing
• Witness Statements
• Ghostwriting Services
• Expert Surveillance

Bug Sweeps

Do you suspect your home or office has been bugged? Could someone be listening in on your private and confidential information?

Signs you could be bugged:

• Unusual static or sounds coming from your phone or phone head set.
• Changes in your phone lines.
• Business meetings where others want to sit in that shouldn't be there.
• Radio interference.
• Phone sounds that aren't normal to the ear.
• Someone has been in your home.
• Your television is not clear.
• People know more about your business or personal life than they should.
• Electrical panels have been tampered with.
• Discoloration in  your ceilings.
• New items you've not ordered have appeared in your home or office.
• Dust, drywall grit or pain appear near your desk or phone at home.
• Repair men and delivery trucks appear for no apparent reason.
• Your business secrets have been compromised in some way.

If any of these applies to you, or you just feel something is amiss, call us to sweep your home or office for bugs and know, with confidence, that your personal information stays with you.

Risk Assessment

How safe is your company? Your employees? Your files? Your privileged information? Are you sure? Stough International offers corporate risk assessment. This process is a type of insurance on your company that can protect you from hefty fines and lawsuits months or years from now. Call us to schedule a corporate risk assessment. We want you to be safe, secure, and never sorry.

Infidelity and Divorce

If you suspect your spouse is cheating on you, even the suspicion is painful. You will need facts before you proceed with divorce. We can deliver you the proof you need to regain your peace of mind, and to present in court.

Monitoring can include items like:

• Vehicle tracking
• Asset searches
• Email tracing
• Computer forensics
• Identification of the “other person”
• Legal download of text messages

There are many sticky issues when it comes to proving infidelity, and bring your emotions into the situation are a recipe for disaster. You need to hire a private investigator as doing something the wrong way can get your evidence thrown out of court. For instance, downloading text message can be illegal if the phone is password protected, and can be considered tampering if the right kind of software is not used. We know the laws; trust us to prove infidelity and provide you with the evidence you need for a successful court outcome.

Sources: Cheating Spouse P.I., Divorce 360