AEquitas Attorney Advisor Patti Powers presented “Jury Selection,” “Alcohol-Facilitated Sexual Assault” and “Measuring Success” on behalf of the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (NMCSAP) in Santa Fe, New Mexico to an audience of attorney’s/law students, child advocates, educators, prosecutors, sexual assault program staff, and tribal community groups.
Tender Years Testimony Training
AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jonathan Kurland presented “Tender Years Testimony, Hearsay Exceptions, and Forfeiture by Wrongdoing” on behalf of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an audience of child advocates and prosecutors.
Southwest Institute on the Investigation and Prosecution of Commercial Front Brothels
AEquitas staff, along with Polaris, hosted this training in Galveston, Texas and presented on the dynamics of commercial front brothels, implementing a trauma-informed approach, language access, immigration relief for victims of crime, and media engagement to an audience of government agency staff, human trafficking program staff, law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
20th Ending Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Conference
AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson presented “Body Worn Cameras & Gender Based Violence” and “Safeguarding Victim Privacy in a Digital World” on behalf of the Kentucky on behalf of Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, Inc. (KASAP) in Lexington, Kentucky to attorney’s/law students, child advocates, dual sexual assault/domestic violence program staff, government agency staff, mental health professionals, prosecutors, university student affairs staff, and victim-witness specalists.
Durham Lethality Assessment Program: Train-The-Trainer
AEquitas Attorney Advisor John Wilkinson presented “Predominant Aggressor” on behalf of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) in Durham, North Carolina to an audience of domestic violence program staff, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors.
2018 Human Trafficking Symposium
AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jonathan Kurland presented “Ethical Considerations in Human Trafficking Cases” on behalf of the Office of Homeland Security, Pennsylvania State Police in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to an audience of attorney’s/law students, corrections personnel, dual sexual assault/domestic violence program staff, government agency staff, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors.
Recognizing and Responding to Stalking
SPARC Associate Advisor Dana Fleitman and Retired Sgt. Mark Kurkowski presented “Understanding Stalking; Investigations and Hearings,” “Technology,” “Responding to Stalking” and “Best Practices, Resources, Questions ” on behalf of the Loudoun County Domestic Abuse Response Team & Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter (LAWS) in Ashburn, Virginia to an audience of
Investigating and Prosecuting Campus Sexual Assault
AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jonathan Kurland, along with consultant Tom McDevitt, presented “Investigation and Prosecution of Campus Sexual Assault: Dispelling Myths,” “Alcohol Facilitated Sexual Assault,” and “Challenges Multiplied: Multiple Offenders” on behalf of The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to an audience of attorneys/law students, educators, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and victim-witness specialists.
The Burden of Proof in Sexual Assault
Wasn’t it vital to treat victims more decently, and didn’t that mean believing them? But how far was it right to extend that principle—and given the presumption of innocence, weren’t our laws designed not to?
When I mentioned these concerns to Jennifer Long, the CEO of AEquitas, a national resource for prosecutors of gender-based violence, she agreed the quandary I was noticing shaped many cases that lacked corroborating evidence. But it was also the underlying dynamic of any case of sexual assault, she said. “All you’re doing is playing into what people believe already, to blame the victim. Challenging the veracity comes along with the court process.”
Legal Jiu-Jitsu for Prosecutors in Intimate Partner Violence Cases: Forfeiture by Wrongdoing
Jiu-jitsu is a Japanese martial art that does not depend on the use of size or strength to defeat an opponent. Instead, it employs a variety of tactical moves to prevail by turning the force of an attack against the attacker. Prosecutors in domestic violence cases have a similar art at their disposal to counter confrontation challenges in the common scenario where the offender has intimidated, tricked, manipulated, paid off, killed, or otherwise arranged for the victim to be absent from the trial, leaving the prosecution with only the victim’s out-of-court statements to prove the case.
