“If someone is so afraid that they won’t come to court, the last thing you want to do is to arrest that person,” said Jennifer Long, a former Philadelphia prosecutor who heads the group AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women.
Utilizing Eavesdropping Warrants to Successfully Investigate and Prosecute Sex Traffickers
Criminal justice professionals face a variety of challenges when investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases. One of the most difficult of these challenges to overcome is building cases that allow prosecutors to hold offenders accountable when victims are justifiably too scared or traumatized to participate in an investigation and prosecution. Law enforcement officers should therefore strive to build cases that stand on their own, with or without victim testimony.
Whether a victim testifies or not, live and surreptitious interception of offender communications is a way for officers to continue to work a case and collect evidence to build a strong prosecution. When victims do testify, evidence obtained from a wiretap can be crucial to support their credibility before a jury, and in the event that a prosecutor is presenting a case without a participating victim, such evidence may be able to fill in the gaps to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
A wiretap may produce key evidence of a target’s role in an organized trafficking scheme or of the guilt of an actor working alone. They may provide crucial out-of-court statements that can help prosecutors convict a trafficker. Wiretaps may also identify other crimes the trafficker is committing, enabling prosecutors to hold offenders accountable for the full range of their criminal conduct or allowing alternative charges when trafficking offenses are unable to be pursued without victim testimony. This article provides law enforcement officers and prosecutors with an introductory and practical overview of obtaining eavesdropping warrants and utilizing the resulting evidence. Wiretapping Corrected Article
The Empathy Tightrope: Balancing Trauma-Informed Responses and Prosecutor Resilience
The prosecution of human trafficking requires prosecutors who are highly skilled, have a deep understanding of complex dynamics, and are dedicated to working with victims and survivors who have undergone severe trauma. Prosecutors handling sex and labor trafficking cases are faced with high volumes of complex evidence that is often graphic, violent, or disturbing in nature. Trauma-informed approaches require prosecutors to lead with empathy, while being watchful that secondary trauma does not negatively impact job performance and personal well-being.
This presentation addresses wellness as a critical aspect of any response to human trafficking, with a specific focus on prosecutors who lead trauma-informed responses to sex and labor trafficking cases. The presenter provides strategies to identify early signs of burnout and secondary trauma and facilitates interactive discussions around healthy coping mechanisms and proactive stress management. Such skills are crucial not only for personal well-being, but also for sustaining prosecutors’ ability to seek justice for trafficking victims and hold offenders accountable.
By the end of the presentation, participants will be better able to:
-Proactively address secondary-trauma to ensure effective responses to victims of human trafficking
-Lead trauma-informed approaches to investigating and prosecuting sex and labor trafficking
-Collaborate to prioritize wellness and minimize burnout amongst multi-disciplinary partners
This presentation was produced by AEquitas under Grant No. 15POVC-21-GK-03263-HT, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Framework for Prosecutors to Strengthen Our National Response to Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Involving Adult Victims
Written by prosecutors for prosecutors, this guide reflects decades of insight and experience prosecuting sexual violence and domestic violence of more than 120 state, Tribal, military, and federal prosecutors as well as advocates, academics, and investigators who have dedicated their careers to combatting sexual assault and domestic violence.DOJ SA-DV Prosecutor Guide may 2024
Legal Jiu Jitsu: Combatting Witness Intimidation in Human Trafficking Cases
Human trafficking often morphs into witness intimidation once investigations and prosecutions are initiated. In collaboration with law enforcement and victim services, prosecutors can both support victim participation and identify evidence that can be used against traffickers to strengthen cases of sex and labor trafficking.
This presentation adheres to the core philosophy of jiu-jitsu which is to use the opponent’s force against themselves. When combating witness intimidation in tandem with human trafficking, prosecutors and law enforcement can take one of the most pervasive tools used by traffickers to quiet their victims to instead, bring the victim’s voice into court via forfeiture by wrongdoing. The presenter discusses strategies to protect victims and strategies to bring their voices into the courtroom when traffickers have relied on witness intimidation to prevent them from testifying.
At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be better able to:
-Support victim participation in sex and labor trafficking cases
-Minimize and respond to witness intimidation
-Litigate the admission of statements under forfeiture by wrongdoing
This presentation was produced by AEquitas under 15POVC-21-GK-03263-HT, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecution Foundations: Capturing the Full Extent of the Offender’s Criminality
The IACP and AEquitas, with support from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, hosted a conversation between Jane Anderson, Senior Attorney Advisor with AEquitas and David Weiss, the Chief of the Human Trafficking Unit at Kings County (Brooklyn, New York) District Attorney’s Office. As a co-chair of Brooklyn’s Enhanced Collaborative Model Human Trafficking Task Force, David has extensive experience collaborating on human trafficking responses, including working with law enforcement early in investigations and supervising complex prosecutions. Jane and David discussed how broadening human trafficking investigations can enhance prosecutions, decrease reliance on victim participation, and ensure support to victims is trauma-informed.
This presentation will enhance your ability to:
-Identify criminal activity and co-occurring charges common in human trafficking cases;
-Collaborate with law enforcement to enhance victim-centered investigations; and
-Litigate the admission of “other bad acts” in sex and labor trafficking cases
This webinar is part of IACP/OVC’s Enhanced Collaborative Model anti-human trafficking task force training catalog. The materials presented aim to help Enhanced Collaborative Model anti-human trafficking task forces seek justice on the behalf of human trafficking victims and survivors.
This webinar was produced by the International Association of Chiefs of Police under Cooperative Agreement #2020-VT-BX-K002, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this webinar are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Understanding the Supreme Court’s Decision in United States v. Rahimi
United States v. Rahimi became a widely followed case in the 2024 Supreme Court docket after the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (covering Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) issued its decision in United States v. Rahimi, 59 F.4th 163 (5th Cir. 2023). The Court ruled that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits gun possession by people who are subject to domestic violence restraining orders, is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
This decision reverberated across the country, and in the wake of the Fifth Circuit decision, the Supreme Court took a writ of Certiorari to resolve the conflict. Ultimately, on June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the Fifth Circuit and upheld the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). This Strategies in Brief newsletter unpacks the holding of the Supreme Court, and provides guidance to prosecutors moving forward on applying this ruling to their work.
This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-22-GK-03987-MUMU awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.RahimiDecision_FINAL
Special Conditions of Bail: Rule 1275.1 Motions in California
Human Trafficking cases, much like organized crime and drug trafficking cases, often have financial motivations and can involve defendants who have obtained a great deal of money as a result of their criminal activity. This one page resource exists to provide an overview of a special condition of bail in California known as a 1275.1 order; Cal. Pen. Code 1275.1 creates a special condition of bail in which a defendant is ordered to show that the source of the funds with which they are posting bail is not proceeds gained from illegal activity.
This resource was developed under a grant awarded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.Nebbia one-pager FINAL
Prosecutor Guide to Jury Selection in Cases with LGBTQ+ Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking
A prosecutor’s first opportunity to combat potential bias during a criminal trial is jury selection. Jury selection, also known as voir dire, provides an opportunity to address bias, correct misconceptions, and strive for fairness in the process. Jury selection is also an opportunity to educate the panel about the crime and parties, to obtain promises to follow instructions on the law, and to plant seeds about the concepts of fairness and justice in the context of the current case. For cases involving LGBTQ+ victims, a comprehensive voir dire strategy is key to ensuring that anti-LGBTQ+ bias does not determine the outcome of the trial.
This Guide, developed in partnership with AEquitas and the American Bar Association, is designed to support prosecutors in drafting jury selection questions and related motions in limine to help address anti-LGBTQ+ bias among potential jurors.
This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-21-GK-02238-MUMU awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.Prosecutor Guide to Jury Selection (OVW Approved)
Threat Assessments
This session, recorded as part of a two-day virtual Witness Intimidation Convening, focuses on methods for assessing threats against victims and witnesses of crime. Rick Harris, Senior Criminal Investigator of the Denver District Attorney’s Office (Denver DA), and Steve Siegel, independent consultant and former director of Denver DA’s Special Programs Unit, discuss how to assess the credibility of threats, resources and tools that facilitate threat assessments, working with candidates for witness protection, and strategies for maximizing the success of witness protection programs.
This event is supported by Grant No. 2020-YX-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions discussed during this event are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
