Bliss, Edward N. Jr.

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Northwestern University Illinois, School of Law: Scholarly Commons

Journal of Criminal Law and CriminologyVolume 47 | Issue 2 Article 161956Defense DetectiveEdward N. Jr. BlissFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclcPart of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and CriminalJustice CommonsThis Criminology is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons.Recommended CitationEdward N. Jr. Bliss, Defense Detective, 47 J. Crim. L. Criminology & Police Sci. 264 (1956-1957)DEFENSE DETECTIVEEDWARD N. BLISS, JR.The author writes that he spent his entire adult life in the field of criminal investi-gation. His experience includes that of special agent for a local utility company, adetective on the vice squad in the sheriff's office, a security investigator for an oilcompany in Saudi Arabia, and finally, his present position as investigator for thePublic Defender's Office of Los Angeles County. Mr. Bliss undertook this latter work inSeptember, 1946, and since the work has been expanded, he has received an appoint-ment as Chief of the Investigation Bureau. His book, Defense Investigation, has beenrecently published by Charles C Thomas, Publisher.-EDiToR.There is a new breed of investigator making use of criminal law, criminology, andpolice science. He is a defense detective, an investigator for the Public Defenderseeking the facts behind the arrest of a defendant accused of a crime. He is employedby the same authority who employs detectives to apprehend the suspect and receiveshis pay from the same tax source. For many years the private attorney has had theservices of competent and trained investigators when his client could afford to paythe fee, but what about that indigent individual who not only could not hire an in-vestigator but could not even retain an attorney? What about the attorney assignedto the defense of an indigent where the facts are obscure and the witnesses are hardto find? It is a burden upon him to defend the accused, to spend time in court andtime in his office preparing the case. Surely he should not be expected to plod throughthe alleys and dark streets in an effort to locate the missing link between the peni-tentiary and freedom for his client.The Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County created the position of Investi-gator-Public Defender in the fall of 1946. His duties were to investigate cases underthe direction of the Public Defender of that county. The value of such a position wasimmediately made evident. During the first year over three hundred felony cases wereinvestigated by the one lone investigator. The work of the investigator was confinedalmost exclusively to the criminal jurisdiction of the office. The investigator's dutieswere comparable to those of investigators in any private law office or in the DistrictAttorney's office, locating witnesses and making field investigations of cases assignedto him by trial deputies in the department.It should be pointed out that prior to the time that provision was made for an in-vestigator, the investigation was done by the deputy public defender to whom therespective cases were assigned to prepare for trial. Not only were these deputies un-trained in investigation work, but in many instances even when their investigationswere fruitful, they were unable to take full advantage of the information which theyhad obtained and yet serve as trial lawyers. From every viewpoint, the formersystem was undesirable.The creation of the position of Investigator-Public Defender made it possible forthe trial deputies to carry an increased case load because they were relieved of the lossof time formerly spent in field investigations. The success of the investigator led toDEFENSE DETECTIVEthe employment of a second investigator in the spring of 1948 and the establishmentof a Bureau of Investigation in the Office of the Public Defender.Through careful investigation we have been able to dispose of many cases whichotherwise would have had to be tried. In almost every trial where there has been aninvestigation, the duration of the trial is shortened by reason of the fact that thetrial deputy is fully advised as to the evidence to be presented and is able to presentit expeditiously, thus substantial savings in trial costs are accomplished.By such careful investigation, the chance of miscarriage of justice is reduced to aminimum, equitable dispositions of many cases are summarily adjusted which other-wise would have had to be tried. While substantial savings are effected in trial costs,great care is exercised that the rights of an accused person are in no manner sacrificed.Today, nine years later, over ten thousand felony cases have been handled by thebureau of investigation. This number includes over three hundred murder cases.Defendants have been proven not guilty, even after a confession and subsequentconviction by the court. In one case the defendant was shown to have been in jail, athousand miles from Los Angeles at the time of the commission of the offense. Inother cases the investigator not only cleared the accused but located the personactually responsible for the crime.The Bureau of Investigation is staffed with five men, all highly trained, withyears of investigative experience behind them. Every one of them has had experi-ence with a law enforcement agency but came into this field because of one thing incommon, an inquisitive nature, compassion for his fellow man, and a desire to seethat justice was not decided by the dollar sign. They are all under County CivilService and are paid the same rate of pay as the investigators in the District At-torney's office or the detectives in the Sheriff's office. While the investigators workin close harmony with law enforcement agencies, there is no breach of confidence.They act as agents of the attorney and as such are bound by the same rules of con-fidence as attorney and client. However, by seeking the facts and only the facts, andconducting their investigations on a high ethical plane, they are taking the blindfoldoff of justice.Other areas are gradually following in the same footseps. Public Defender officesin Oakland and San Francisco, in Memphis, Tennessee, and in Chicago now haveinvestigators. Of the seventy-eight Public Defender offices throughout the UnitedStates, this sum seems woefully small, but then nine years ago it did not even exist;so progress is being made.19561

Defense Detective

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Northwestern University Illinois, School of Law: Scholarly Commons