Francie Koehler has been conducting civil and criminal investigations since 1985. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ms. Koehler provides investigative services for attorneys from the private and public sector. As a licensed private investigator in California, her chief investigative focus is pre-trial and post-conviction criminal defense for both juvenile and adult defendants. Ms. Koehler is committed to the growth of the investigator profession and is an active member of both state and national associations. Her company, Special Circumstances, provides a variety of investigative services ranging from background searches, field investigations, pre-trial preparation to post-trial convictions.
Ms. Koehler’s cases have received attention from both television and print media. The TV show, Unsolved Mysteries, covered one of her cases. Crime authors Val McDermid and Anne Rule both wrote separately on two of Koehler’s cases. She can also be found weekly as host for PI’s Declassified! on Voice America Variety. The show is an internationally recognized internet radio program, designed to profile the role of the private investigator in the legal system.
Ms. Koehler is a past president of the National Council of Investigation & Security Services and of the California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI). Awarded by both organizations for her work, she serves on their legislation committees and regularly testifies before the California State Legislature regarding bills concerning PI’s. She chairs CALI’s Government Affairs Committee and formerly chaired the same committee for the National Association of Legal Investigators. Ms. Kohler has been recognized by her state regulatory agency for outstanding service to her profession. She holds memberships in the Council for International Investigators, World Association of Detectives and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. Also, Ms. Kohler works with the Innocence Project and is a Certified Conflict Mediator.