One Step Ahead Investigations

I have had the pleasure of working with Mr. Ruda on several death penalty and juvenile resentencing cases in Duval County. One of Mr. Ruda’s greatest strengths is his ability to build rapport with clients and their families. His contributions were instrumental in obtaining favorable results in several of my cases. He takes initiative and goes the extra mile. He conducts detailed and thorough investigations.

Mr. Ruda never shied away from any tasks and would always ask, “How else can I help?” This positive attitude was so welcome in a field that is frequently, very bleak. His helpful, positive attitude not only assisted me in the client’s legal representation but also uplifted many client’s spirits even when facing poor legal options. It also helped in securing items I needed from various agencies—like medical and cell phone records. Mr. Ruda is tenacious. He will think of creative ways to complete a task; if he was unable to obtain what I needed the first time, he would think of creative solutions to complete it. His greatest strength was building a solid rapport with our clients and their families which lead to a more open exchange of helpful information in their cases. By building trusting and lasting relationships, Jon would obtain mitigating information from clients and witnesses in interviews and oftentimes, this information would be the foundation for more positive outcomes for our clients.

Jon is a highly skilled and incredible criminal defense investigator. Jon is personable, dedicated to his work, and will always help…no matter the situation. He interviews witnesses and writes the most detailed reports of any investigator I have worked with during my legal career. Jon’s reports are so thorough and detailed I am never left at the end of his reports feeling that he missed something or having the need to follow up with him because his reports are so thorough. There was one case where I called Jon as a witness to testify before the Judge in court. Jon’s thorough investigation and testimony was the main reason the Judge granted my motion to declare a witness unavailable and admit the prior trial transcripts in my criminal trial. After the hearing, the Judge applauded Jon for conducting such a thorough and diligent investigation. He believed Jon had exhausted every measure possible to locate this defense witness i.e. went out to multiple addresses, located and spoke with family members, found possible phone numbers, etc. The Judge stated Jon did a fantastic job testifying at the motion hearing and went on to say it was the best investigation he had ever seen while being a Judge.

Jon Ruda is a person that you can depend on to complete all assignments timely and thoroughly. He works well independently or with a group. He is highly qualified and yet, he still amazes me with the way he manages to often locate witnesses with only the bits of information clients sometimes give. Witnesses trust him and this allows him to obtain more detailed information than any average interviewer. His previous years of experience have not only taught him what types of questions to ask, but how to effectively get the answers that we need from witnesses. I must add that he does this on a regular basis without any prompting. Likewise, his interviewing skills have enabled us to gain in- depth backgrounds with clients early on in high profile felony cases. As an attorney, I appreciate this since it allows me to assess cases quickly to determine which defense strategy to utilize. Jon was extremely instrumental in my most recent life-felony trial. If it were not for his ability to locate witnesses, we would not have been able to have key evidence admitted during trial. Jon also photographed incident scenes and was present during trial to potentially impeach a last-minute State witness.

Jon continuously went above and beyond to fulfill the assignments provided to him while maintaining the utmost integrity and ethics when interacting with clients and potential witnesses. Jon’s interviewing skills were exceptional. Jon was always very thorough when interviewing witnesses and he provided detailed notes that I could review after each interview. Given his experience and knowledge in the field, when presented with an assignment Jon needed little to no guidance as he was able to take information provided and run with it producing an exemplary outcome.