The California Center for Investigative Study (CCFIS) is an independent academic and professional education center dedicated to advancing the study, methodology, and professional practice of criminal defense investigation, investigative forensics, ethics, and forensic criminology.
CCFIS was established to bridge the gap between academic study and real-world investigative practice. The Center brings together criminal defense investigators, attorneys, forensic professionals, educators, researchers, and students to examine how investigations are conducted, how evidence is evaluated, and how investigative methodology can be strengthened within the adversarial legal system.
At its core, CCFIS promotes the principle that professional investigation should be systematic, ethical, evidence-driven, analytically rigorous, and capable of independent scrutiny. Effective criminal defense investigation requires more than locating witnesses and collecting information; it requires a disciplined methodology for evaluating evidence, testing competing hypotheses, identifying investigative deficiencies, assessing testimonial reliability, and reconstructing the investigative process.
The Center advances these objectives through professional education, continuing education, specialized training, scholarly research and publication, peer-led study, case-based analysis, and the development of structured investigative methodologies.
CCFIS provides an academic home for the continued study and development of emerging approaches to criminal defense investigation, including Collaborative Holistic Defense Investigation (CHDI) and Investigative Forensic Criminology (IFC), while incorporating established investigative principles such as the Component Method of Criminal Defense Investigation and Forensic Testimonial Evidence Recovery (FTER).
A major component of the CCFIS mission is the advancement of ethics and professional responsibility. The Center promotes objectivity, investigative independence, methodological transparency, professional accountability, and adherence to the constitutional and ethical responsibilities associated with criminal defense practice.
CCFIS educational programs are designed for criminal defense investigators, public defender investigators, conflict-panel investigators, private investigators, defense attorneys, forensic professionals, litigation-support specialists, criminal justice educators, and students seeking advanced study in investigative methodology and forensic reasoning.
Our Mission
The mission of the California Center for Investigative Study is to advance the professional discipline of criminal defense investigation through education, research, ethical leadership, methodological development, peer collaboration, and scholarly inquiry.
By connecting investigative experience with academic study and structured methodology, CCFIS seeks to improve the reliability, integrity, transparency, and analytical quality of investigations used in criminal litigation while helping develop the next generation of highly trained investigative professionals.
CCFIS — Where Investigative Practice, Methodology, Research, and Education Converge.
California Center For Investigative Study CCFIS-ONLINE (1)
Our Online Courses
Ethics and Professional Responsibility for the Board-Certified Criminal Defense Investigator (CCDI)
Course Description
Ethical integrity, professional responsibility, and sound investigative judgment are fundamental to competent criminal defense investigation. Investigators operate within a complex legal and ethical environment in which their decisions can directly affect the reliability of evidence, the protection of constitutional rights, the administration of justice, and the lives of individuals accused of criminal offenses. Ethics and Professional Responsibility for the Board-Certified Criminal Defense Investigator (CCDI) is an eight-hour professional continuing education course designed to strengthen the ethical foundations of criminal defense investigative practice.
Collaborative Holistic Defense Investigation (CHDI): Foundations and Application
Course Description
This course introduces Collaborative Holistic Defense Investigation (CHDI), a structured, interdisciplinary approach to criminal defense investigation that integrates investigative methodology, forensic analysis, legal strategy, and professional collaboration to support comprehensive, evidence-driven defense representation.
Students will explore the foundational principles of CHDI and learn how criminal defense investigators, defense attorneys, forensic specialists, and other professionals can work collaboratively to identify investigative deficiencies, evaluate evidence, develop alternative hypotheses, and address the broader circumstances affecting the client.
Through practical case studies and applied investigative exercises, participants will examine methods for coordinating investigative resources, integrating specialized expertise, maintaining ethical and professional independence, and developing comprehensive investigative strategies.
Foundations of Investigative Forensic Criminology (IFC)
Course Description
Foundations of Investigative Forensic Criminology (IFC) introduces students to an emerging, structured approach to the scientific and analytical examination of criminal investigations, evidentiary reliability, investigative methodology, and forensic case analysis.
Developed by William A. Monroe, CCDI, CFSI, CFI-FTER, Investigative Forensic Criminology establishes a disciplined framework for examining not only what evidence exists within a criminal case, but also how that evidence was identified, collected, interpreted, documented, and incorporated into investigative conclusions.
This eight-hour professional continuing education course introduces the foundational principles of IFC and its application to criminal defense investigation, with particular emphasis on the independent evaluation of prosecution investigations, investigative decision-making, evidentiary relationships, cognitive bias, investigative omissions, and competing explanations.
THE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE STUDIES ONLINE LIBRARY
