An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 12 - Investigations

- Where did the conversation take place? - When did the conversation take place? - What were you discussing just before she told you her husband would be out of town over the weekend? - Please tell me exactly what she said to you. - Did she say anything else? - Did she ask what you were doing over the weekend? - Did she tell you what she planned to do over the weekend? - Was anyone else present during the conversation? - Have you ever talked about weekend plans before? - Have you ever met with her for a social event over the weekend before?”

Example 4 Witness:

“He told me about this great new bar for ‘singles.’”

Investigator: “ Where did the conversation take place? - When did the conversation take place?

- What were you talking about right before he told you about the great new bar for singles? - Have you discussed bars or other types of nightlife or other social activities before? - If so, what was discussed? - Has he ever asked you to join him at a bar or club? - Were other people talking with you both when he told you about the new bar for singles? - If so, were the other people discussing bars and other nightlife or social activities?” iii. Distinguish Opinion From Fact It is the role of the investigator to gather evidence and reach conclusions based on the facts. Often, however, witnesses respond to questions by providing opinions and conclusions rather than facts. The investigator must recognize which statements are opinions and conclusions, and re-direct the interview to obtain facts. One way to re-direct it is to ask the witnesses for the facts on which they base their opinions and conclusions. iv. Follow The Leads It is important that the investigator be flexible when interviewing a witness. The investigator should use the outline of open-ended questions as a starting point but should not rely solely on the outline; rather, the investigator must also ask questions based upon the answers given by the witness during the interview in order to gather the needed relevant information. When witnesses answer open-ended questions, the investigator needs to listen very carefully and will need to follow up and ask questions about the information provided to obtain the relevant facts needed. Investigators may need to re-interview the complainant, witnesses, and/or the accused employee to ask about additional information discovered during the investigation.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 465