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Gang-Related Violence Against Women

Gangs are notorious for perpetrating firearm- and drug-related offenses, but many gangs and their members also regularly engage in violence against women, including rape, physical violence, and human trafficking. Gang members use physical and sexual violence to control their victims and the communities within which they operate. Additionally, some gangs engage in trafficking to exploit gang members and non-members to increase gang profits. The pervasive nature of gang-related violence, combined with gang members’ habitual intimidation of victims and witnesses, present unique challenges to the effective investigation and prosecution of these cases.

This presentation discusses tangible strategies for improving the identification, investigation, and prosecution of gang-related violence against women. The presenter explores collaborative methods for supporting victims, enhancing community safety, holding gang offenders accountable, and preventing and effectively responding to witness intimidation.

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Opioids and Drug Delivery Resulting in Death

The opioid epidemic has devastated communities across the United States, resulting in hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the past two decades. In response, state and local prosecutors have taken a multifaceted approach to the crisis: diverting defendants with substance abuse issues from traditional prosecution, educating  communities about the dangers of opioid addiction; and increasingly, seeking to hold drug traffickers and dealers accountable for the deaths they cause. This webinar will spotlight one office’s efforts to tackle the opioid crisis. Tonya Lupinacci of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Norristown, PA will discuss strategies that are broadly applicable to jurisdictions across the country, with a special emphasis on prosecuting Drug Delivery Resulting in Death and similar crimes. The session will focus on the evidence necessary for building these cases, theories of offender liability, and effective presentation of evidence at trial.

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First, Do No Harm: Trauma Informed Interviewing During the Covid-19 Pandemic

This presentation identifies barriers to successful crime victim/witness interviews and explore techniques for overcoming those barriers, with a special emphasis on virtual interviews that are compliant with COVID-19 social distancing measures. The presenters discuss the limitations of a traditional fact-gathering approach and introduce alternative techniques to minimize re-traumatization and enhance our ability to re-create the reality of the crime at trial. An emphasis is placed on strategies for integrating a trauma-informed response from the first contact with a victim through the conclusion of the case, with realistic goals for interviews and virtual meetings at every stage of the process.

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Law Enforcement and Prosecution Virtual Roundtable: Setting the Stage for Success: Jury Selection for Cases Involving Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking

Having an unbiased jury is essential to any trial. When trying cases involving immigrant victims of domestic or sexual violence, it is imperative that prosecutors develop a strategy to ensure that the jurors selected do not bear any prejudice against the victim and can understand the underlying dynamics of the case. 

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Responding to Ethical Considerations in Sexual Violence Cases

This presentation will address the ethical considerations outlined above in the context of charging decisions, the investigative function of a prosecutor, jury selection, and victims’ rights. The presenters will use hypothetical case scenarios to challenge prosecutors to evaluate their decision-making in the context of ethical rules and principles. The presenters will also explore how social distancing and quarantine measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may affect how prosecutors meet their ethical obligations, including when it comes to providing discovery and ensuring victims’ rights are upheld.

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be better able to:

  • Identify ethical responsibilities at each stage of the criminal justice process.
  • Navigate ethical challenges related to prosecutorial discretion, recantation, and disclosure of evidence.
  • Approach issues pertaining to charging, social media investigations, jury selection, and victims’ rights within an ethical framework.
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Overcoming the Consent Defense: Prosecuting Known Offenders

This presentation will address the challenges inherent in prosecuting known offenders and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault, with an emphasis on overcoming the consent defense. The presentation will examine offender characteristics, motivations, and behaviors as well as the impact of the offender’s actions on the victim. The presenter will suggest strategies for overcoming common misconceptions at trial, including the importance of establishing a compelling trial theme, introducing evidence of the defendant’s predatory behavior, presenting corroborating evidence to support witness credibility, and recreating the reality of the crime at trial.

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IPS Learning Community Series: Implementation Evaluations

As home to the Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) Research and Evaluation Training and Technical Assistance team, RTI International has developed a webinar series to support the creation and ongoing engagement of a learning community of local researchers and practitioners interested in discussing evaluation-related topic areas, sharing methodological techniques, and addressing problem-solving challenges in carrying out applied research. In this webinar, IPS grantees discussed the importance of implementation and performance metrics – not only for grant monitoring, but also for informing outcome and impact evaluations. View the discussion for key insights into research design flexibility, privacy and confidentiality concerns, and garnering project buy-in.

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IPS Learning Community Series: Research-Practitioner Partnerships

As home to the Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) Research and Evaluation Training and Technical Assistance team, RTI International has developed a webinar series to support the creation and ongoing engagement of a learning community of local researchers and practitioners interested in discussing evaluation-related topic areas, sharing methodological techniques, and addressing problem-solving challenges in carrying out applied research. In this webinar, IPS grantees discussed their experiences with researcher-practitioner partnerships in IPS and previous projects. View the discussion to learn more about initiating and fostering partnerships; keys to partnership success; tips for overcoming challenges; and strategies for sustaining regular evaluations of prosecution strategies.