John's Blog

Dec 31, What it costs to hire HSI

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 00:10:00 GMT

The costs of hiring a private legal investigator in Seattle

Dec 28, Mutual Expectations for working with HSI Investigations

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:28:06 GMT

John's mutual expectations for partners and clients

Dec 27, Services provided

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:51:18 GMT

HSI Investigations, Seattle, WA - Services provided

Jun 20, Old weather? What? Why should anyone care?

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:29:43 GMT

Do you need to know the weather for a particular day at a particular location in the past? Is the weather pertinent to a legal case? Or do you just want to settle an argument with your spouse? The Weather Underground site at http://www.wunderground.com will tell you the weather at the closest data collection points for dates back through the early 70s. First fill in the search box in the upper left corner of the home page to identify the location for which you are searching for weather data. Hit enter. Then go to the History and Almanac box on the page that comes up for the location you selected. Fill in the date of interest and hit the Go button. You get a page showing a summary of weather details for that location. Some pages will give you more detailed data (hourly observations and seasonal weather averages) for that date and location; be sure to scroll down to get the extra data when provided. Remember that the data you get is specific to the location and date you selected. Click on View Current Conditions to get the latitude, longitude and elevation for the data collection point. Micro climates matter. Weather varies over time and, for a specific time, over geographic location and elevation, so, unless the data collection point is your real point of interest, you can only make inferences about the data being true for some other location, even close by. You can triangulate by getting data from surrounding data collection points. For a recent case, I collected data for Boeing Field, Everett and Bothell to allow more reliable inferences about road conditions for a location near to, but outside of, Bothell. Be sure to play with the site; it offers a considerable amount of interesting and educational information.

Apr 19, Why would you want to help defend the guilty - Part 2

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:59:59 GMT

Because justice requires it Justice doesnt find the accused guilty or innocent til the trial is over, and maybe not even then. Has anyone ever been accused of a crime he or she did not commit? Unless you have been living in a cave somewhere with no contact with the outside world, you know the answer to that question. Even before the advent of DNA testing, it was not unusual to hear about a person tried and convicted of a crime who was later released after new evidence was presented or original evidence was refuted. Ive often wondered how many innocent people have been executed or have been left to serve out their terms in prison because they didnt have the resources or the good luck to prove their innocence. Why are innocent people sometimes convicted? Because of the fallibility of juries of usually well-meaning citizens Because of bigoted, bad-intentioned juries Because of the errors, intended or unintended, of police, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges Because no system of justice is perfect Because Because Because While our system of justice isnt perfect, it is arguably the best in the world, if if all players in the process are competent and do their best to fulfill their roles. I firmly believe that if I do my job as the defense investigator and the police, the prosecutor, the defense attorney, the judge and the jury do theirs to the best of their abilities and with the best intentions, then justice has the best chance to be served. For me the presumption of innocence is the critical underlying principle setting the tone for the process. Anybody can accuse you of a crime, but for you to be held accountable for the alleged crime your guilt must proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a public court of law. It is my duty to play my role as the defense investigator competently and to the best of my ability because justice requires it.

Apr 2, "Why would you want to help defend the guilty?"

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 02:46:07 GMT

Do you want to help set a criminal free? I get asked that question all the time when I tell people I'm a criminal defense investigator. "What if the person you are helping to defend is really guilty? What if the defense attorney you work for on the case gets him acquitted and he walks free? How can you justify your part in his defense? Ive been asked these and similar questions by some family and friends and by a few people whom Ive just met. It usually happens just after they find out what I do for a living. These questions usually come from good and well-meaning people. But the question shows that the person asking is woefully ignorant of our system of justice and its underlying principles. In my experience, its unusual to find a person who does understand, who isnt in the business or wasnt involved in a criminal or civil lawsuit. (Click for the rest of the article)

Mar 20, Juries trump judges?

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 04:26:48 GMT

And prosecutors and legislators? While Im on the subject of jury duty, heres a peculiar feature of the law that some prosecutors and judges and others in the legal field seem to be afraid might become general knowledge. Jury nullification General public knowledge of jury nullification might put greater power in the hands of juries than that held by judges, prosecutors and legislators (in a very limited but useful sense). The concept of jury nullification challenges the idea that, in the courtroom, judges interpret the law and juries interpret the evidence and render verdicts under the instructions of the judge regarding the law and its application. Jury nullification allows the jury to ignore the judges instructions and, in essence, nullify, or throw out, the law or its application in the specific case being tried. Jury nullification is the finding by the jury that either the law is a bad law or it is being applied improperly in a specific case. The concept is centuries old and is based in Common Law which is part of the foundation of our legal system. Its history in North America starts in 1734 when a printer named John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel, contrary to the instructions of the judge hearing the case. Jury nullification challenges State power. As such, it is a dangerous, subversive and powerful tool for maintaining the peoples hold on power. It has a potential dark side. Theoretically, it could be used by a jury of racists or homophobes to acquit a person guilty of a hate crime. On the other hand, consider the medical marijuana controversy. What if juries in Federal courts refused to convict medical marijuana growers, distributors and users in States that have legalized such use? Could the Federal government continue to interfere with the medicinal use of a proven, beneficial and natural drug? There are a lot of questions that come to mind as I study jury nullification; Im just getting started. Its not my purpose here to expound on a complicated and controversial subject. I would be happy if a few of my readers pursued the study, on their own. Following is a list of web-based resources. Google for more. Reactions?
http://www.fija.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification
http://www.levellers.org/jrp/
http://www.crfc.org/americanjury/nullification.html
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/zenger/nullification.html

Mar 12, Jury duty with a small stipend and a box lunch?

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 06:12:58 GMT

And no one has to go to jail? Whether or not you have ever been on a jury, if you wish to have some experience and education on the matter, you might try what my wife and I have done and thoroughly enjoyed on a summer weekend for each of the last two years. We plan on doing it again this summer. We act as jurors in mock civil and criminal trials argued by practicing lawyers in front of practicing judges. The National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) trains practicing lawyers to be more effective trial lawyers. A bit about NITA from their website at http://www.nita.org NITA's Mission Statement NITA, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is a dedicated team of professors, judges and practicing lawyers who believe that skilled and ethical advocacy is a critical component of legal professionalism and all systems of dispute resolution that seek justice. NITA's mission is to:

Promote justice through effective and ethical advocacy;
Train and mentor lawyers to be competent and ethical advocates in pursuit of justice; and
Develop and teach trial advocacy skills to support and promote the effective and fair administration of justice

NITA's Mission Statement defines NITA and articulates its Mission. We will fulfill our Mission through NITA's Goals and Objectives to be carried out through a Strategic Plan outlining NITA's programs and publications. NITA Long-Range Goals and Objectives NITA's Goals and Objectives are to:

Enable and encourage lawyers to become effective, ethical and professional advocates.
Create and promote the highest quality professional and ethical advocacy training and educational materials
Support and assist the Judicial System in providing the important, effective administration and resolution of disputes.
Encourage, support and assist advocacy training for and dedication to public service.

You can participate for both days or either day. If you do both days, you hear a civil case on one day and a criminal case on the other. You sit in court, listen to the arguments, select a jury foreman, weigh the evidence and present your verdict to the court. One thing that happens in these mock trials that doesnt happen in real life is the post-trial discussion involving the judge, the attorneys and the jurors. The trial experience and the post-trial discussion provide an incredibly educational and entertaining way to spend a day or two. They give you a small stipend and a box lunch each day. You meet and spend the day with some really nice people. Go to the NITA website at and explore at http://www.nita.org. Find out where the programs entitled Building Trial Skills are being held and contact them about your interest in participating as a juror in the mock trials. If they havent already filled the juror pool, volunteer. I believe you will find the experience (plus the stipend and the lunch) to be well worth your time.

Feb 27, Justice System Saved?

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:10:51 GMT

They didnt have a case and they wasted my taxes, but the system ultimately worked. My first and only experience on a jury was an eye-opener and, in fact, very disturbing. I had been called to jury duty a couple of times before but had never ended up serving. I was actually looking forward to the experience. I got more and less than I expected on the third call to duty when I survived the selection process and was actually chosen for the jury. The defendant was charged with trading crack for cash. The SPD had been conducting a sting at the busy drug market on the SE corner of 2nd and Yesler in Seattle. SPD officers were everywhere in plainclothes and in uniform, in marked and unmarked cars and on bikes, on the street and on rooftops. This should have been an easy bust but wasnt as the seller spooked after taking the plainclothes officers money and handing over the crack in a baggy. The seller made the trade while sitting in his idling car at the curb with the buyer standing on the sidewalk. Something about the situation caused the seller to panic and run. He took off southbound on second and turned left to go east on Washington. He blew the 4-way stop at 3rd and the stop sign at 4th, a very busy, three lane northbound road. He headed uphill to 6th and turned north towards Yesler. He almost ran over two bicycle cops and evaded hot pursuit by an officer in a marked squad car when the officer stopped the pursuit for safety reasons. The seller got away and was not arrested til months later. He was arrested for the sell during the sting described above; the arrest was based on identification of the seller by the buying officer. The prosecutor decided there was enough evidence to support prosecution. This led to the trial where I got some education about how the system sometimes works. The prosecutions case consisted of: Officer X says the defendant was the person who sold him the crack. The prosecution had no other witnesses, no tie in to the sellers vehicle, no marked money, nothing but the officers assertion... (click the permanlink to read the whole article)

Feb 16, Blog introduction

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:26:51 GMT

Im not a lawyer so I dont give legal advice; you will never find any of that here. However, I am a citizen, and as such, I have a right to pass on useful information, make observations, offer opinions and raise questions pertaining to the law, including its place and function in our society. As a PI, I have the opportunity to see the legal system in action and, indeed, have a small but necessary role to play in that system. I want to share some of what Ive learned. I want to share some of the resources Ive found. I want to share some of what I think I know and some of what I believe. I want to do this 1) to provide useful information to lawyers, other PIs and other interested citizens, and 2) to generate thinking about a critical element of our culture that gets little attention from people who arent in law-oriented professions and who arent involved in legal action of some sort. Most of my blog entries will have this focus. Ill be updating the blog on a weekly basis, on average. Those of you interested in responding to what you see here should use the Contact HSI button found in the menu on the left side of each page on this site. Unless you specify otherwise, I will share unedited responses if and when I believe they contribute something of substance to the discussion. This might sound arrogant, self serving and arbitrary to some of you, butIm in the PI business not the blog writing business. There are only so many hours in the day.

Jan 30, John Hays' resume

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 17:26:47 GMT

Resume for John Hays, Seattle private legal investigator