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Re: Destruction of notes and data
Posted by:
Jim Mazerat (IP Logged)
Date: February 18, 2007 09:55AM
John:
You know and I know why you want the notes saved and believe it or not I do not have a problem with it. Where I understand you are attempting to keep it simple to one topic, which is field notes, I suggest this can expand to much greater requirements.
1. There is a legal issue as to who the notes belong to in both the private and public sectors that the court has not come to grips with.
2. Why do we keep just these notes and not all information generated by the investigation? Is now the revisions of a report not just as important as the field notes.
3. What other evidence can we say should be retained. How about the structure itself.
By this statement, “WHY are notes destroyed if not to deny information to a litigation adversary”, it would indicate to me you have convicted the investigator on just the fact that the field notes were destroyed of destroying evidence and committing a crime. It is like saying a person is guilty because the police wwould not have arrested him if he was not guilty. You say, “Not presenting a retained expert because he has been declared a consultant is not the same as destroying notes. There have been many times when I developed information unfavorable to a client. I did not shred my file. If my client was legally entitled to keep my information confidential, there is not much I can do about that”. If this is true, how is it not the same. You knowingly are withholding evidence that can greatly affect the life of the other party. You come back to a good point in this posting. The term “Legally requires”. The same goes for the field notes. There is no legal requirement and as I have pointed for federal agents there is a legal requirement these notes not be shared. You say, “It is not allowed for agents of the government to hide or withhold exculpatory evidence—period.” I suggest you look out the case of The United States vs. James Brown in the fifth circuit.
Would you agree that the keeping of personal notes is an individual decision and that there is nothing illegal not to keep these notes?