Batza & Associates
January 04, 2010
[Disclosure: I did not receive - directly or indirectly - any remuneration, discount, or thing of value for this review.]
A couple of years ago, we hired David Batza & Associates to handle a sensitive sexual-assault prosecution. They outperformed our expectations.
Although "thorough" is the word everyone who has seen their case reports used (and they did find everything), what impressed me most was their people skills.
Good private investigators can all find the same information. One simply needs to learn how and what databases to search. Great private investigators get witnesses to open up.
Getting people to talk to a private investigator is challenging. No law, after all, requires a witness to speak to a private investigator. If the witness won't speak at all - or won't open up - there isn't much you can do. In a civil case, you can depose the witness. In a criminal case...Good luck.
Cases involve witnesses. What are those witnesses going to say? Will their testimony help or hang you? Although the rule of trial-by-surprise is dead in civil cases, criminal cases are full of surprises.
In the case Batza investigated, there was a witness to the alleged rape. The witness was close friends with the complaining witness, but had refused to assist police. She gave a vague statement that signified nothing. Why was she so uncooperative, one wondered. We sent Batza's team to find out.
The witness, at first, was not helpful. She initially told Batza & Associates investigators: "Leave now or we're going to get a gun." After not shooting them, the witnesses admitted that there was no rape. She had been uncooperative because, while she didn't want to betray her friend, she also didn't want to assist with a false prosecution.
Thanks for Batza & Associates work, we were able to get a great plea deal. (Yes, in our system of justice a prosecutor will still try a case where an eyewitness who was best friends with the complaining witness, states that no rape occurred.)
If you ever need a fantastic private investigative firm, consider Batza & Associates. Their firm websites is available here.