Should you need to display competency in crime scene evaluation, interviewing and interrogation techniques, electronic surveillance, and firearms in order to file paperwork with the government?
Common sense answers that question. But common sense, unfortunately, doesn’t always drive policy, so it will instead be up to a federal court to consider that query as a part of a federal lawsuit at the nexus of occupational licensing and free speech.
David Knott is the paperwork filer in question. And there is quite a bit of paperwork for him to file. Knott’s company, United Asset Recovery Inc., helps clients reclaim lost personal property held by the government: Across the country, states take possession of lost assets—uncashed checks, abandoned bank accounts, etc.—but they are required to return them if the owner petitions the state and successfully proves that he or she is the rightful owner.
If is the operative word here. Many people don’t realize the government is holding their property, or they don’t know how to get it back, which is why companies like Knott’s exist. Paid by commission, he checks government databases listing unclaimed property, contacts the owners, and offers his services in filing the necessary paperwork to retrieve their property.
But in 2021, the state of Illinois told Knott he was no longer permitted to do so unless he obtained a private detective’s license, which would require he apprentice for three years with an investigator, a licensed attorney, a corporation with 100 or more employees, the armed forces, or a law enforcement agency. This is despite that he does not, in fact, have any interest in being a private investigator. He would also have to prove he is adept at the areas mentioned above—crime scene investigation, interrogation, surveillance, and firearms—despite, again, that he has no intention of employing any of those skills.
Should Knott ignore the government’s directive, he would face criminal prosecution—a misdemeanor for the first offense, a felony for any subsequent one—and a $10,000 fine per infraction.
Hellbound and Down 