Professional Ethics & Standards Flashcards
7 cards from real ACI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Ethics & Standards flashcards as text
A forensic examiner is asked to testify about a technology outside their area of expertise. The ethical response is to:
Answer: Decline to opine on areas outside competence and recommend an appropriate expert
Professional ethics requires investigators to recognize the limits of their expertise and decline to offer opinions beyond their competence.
In the context of digital forensics, attorney-client privilege most directly affects the investigator by:
Answer: Potentially restricting what communications the investigator can review or disclose
Attorney-client privilege may protect certain communications from review, and investigators must be aware of these restrictions when examining data.
Which scenario represents an appropriate use of a forensic investigator's access to a subject's personal data?
Answer: Using the data solely for the purposes authorized in the scope agreement
Data accessed during a forensic investigation must be used only for the purposes explicitly authorized; any other use is an ethical and often legal violation.
When a forensic investigator maintains continuing education in their field, this primarily upholds which professional ethical duty?
Answer: Duty of competence
The duty of competence requires investigators to maintain current knowledge of evolving technologies, tools, and legal standards.
An investigator working for a private firm completes an investigation and is later hired by the opposing party in the same case. This situation is best described as:
Answer: A conflict of interest requiring disclosure or disqualification
Switching sides in the same case creates a direct conflict of interest that compromises impartiality and may violate confidentiality obligations.
The Daubert standard, relevant to expert witnesses in federal court, requires that expert testimony be based on:
Answer: Peer-reviewed methods, testable theories, and scientific validity
The Daubert standard requires expert opinions to be based on scientifically valid, peer-reviewed, and testable methodology.
A forensic investigator who deliberately exaggerates qualifications on a CV used in court proceedings has committed:
Answer: Perjury or fraud, both criminal and ethical violations
Misrepresenting credentials in legal proceedings constitutes perjury and professional fraud, both criminal and grounds for professional sanction.