You Are a Special Agent with the FBI and Have

question 55

Essay

You are a special agent with the FBI and have been assigned toa high profile kidnapping case of an eight year-old little girl whois being held for ransom. The kidnappers, in their last attempt tocontact the family, indicated that if they did not receive their one million dollar ransom, the little girl would "pay the price with her life." Forensic technology experts were able totriangulate the position of the phone call, determine that the person was using a cell phone, and identify a physical address. That evening, you and a team of SWAT officers from the FBI enter the house where the cell phone call originated. Upon entry, the house was empty, with nochild, but it did have one suspect with a cell phone. Knowing that you only had a search warrant for the house, and not the suspect's cell phone that might have other valuable information regarding the girl's whereabouts-what doyou do? Doyou wait for a search warrant tosearch the cell phone, or doyou search it without a warrant? Please explain and justify your response.

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Definitions:

Construct Validity

The degree to which a test or instrument measures the theoretical construct it is intended to measure.

Face Validity

The extent to which a test or instrument appears to measure what it is supposed to measure, based on a superficial assessment.

Third-variable Problem

A confounding issue in research that occurs when a seemingly causal relationship between two variables is actually caused by an unseen, third variable.

Talkativeness

The quality or state of being inclined to talk a lot or engage in conversation frequently.