The Role of the Criminal Defense Investigator – Saint Mary’s University
This course is available exclusively to Saint Mary’s University students.
Use the access code provided by your professor at checkout.
Read more about this course below.
Description
What does a criminal defense investigator actually do? In this self-paced course, you’ll find out by doing the work.
You’ll start your first day at Fair Chance Investigations, a fictional investigations firm, and be assigned a new case: a young man charged with aggravated assault after a fight in a parking lot. You’ll read a police report, go out and canvass, sit in on witness interviews, track down records, and decide where to spend your last few investigative hours before the attorney has to advise the client on a plea offer.
Along the way, you’ll look at a real case where a missed witness cost a man more than ten years of his life and how investigation played into the outcome.
You’ll learn:
- What defense investigators do, who they work for, and how the role differs from law enforcement
- Why the defense investigates a case the police already investigated
- How investigators review discovery, canvass a scene, interview witnesses, use records
- How investigators work with attorneys and clients
- How to separate what you’ve verified from what you’ve assumed
- How to report findings to the attorney
- Where defense investigators work and how people get into the field
Who it’s for: This course is available exclusively to Saint Mary’s University students. No experience needed.
About 90 minutes · Self-paced · Certificate of completion · 365 days of access
