Posted on

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

Posted on

Working with and Supporting Families of Homicide Victims

Being assigned a homicide case is one of the greatest responsibilities given to an individual prosecutor. While these cases invite tremendous scrutiny and demand intense preparation, one aspect that prosecutors rarely receive any formal training in is how to work with the family and friends of the deceased victim. Even though prosecutors are in the business of helping, this gap can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary frustrations in an often opaque and stressful process.

This presentation will focus on strategies a prosecutor can use to work with the family and friends of homicide victims by looking for ways to increase education about the system generally as well as explain in a trauma-informed way the strengths and challenges of an individual case. Focus will also be given to exploring the legal obligations and limitations that may arise in working with a homicide victim’s family.

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be better able to:
– Understand obligations and the benefits of consistently notifying a homicide victim’s family of case updates.
– Develop strategies to navigate situations when a homicide victim’s family may be adversarial and how to mitigate such circumstances from arising.
– Educate homicide victims’ families about unique circumstances such as those involving juvenile defendants, death penalty cases, and cold cases.

This project was supported by 15JOVW-24-GK-03009-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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Identifying and Combatting Witness Intimidation

This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV).  In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV. 

In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor John Wilkinson discuss the co-occurrence of witness intimidation and intimate partner violence. They explore how collaborating with allied professionals can improve victim safety and how admitting evidence of witness intimidation can enhance prosecutions. This discussion highlights why victims of IPV often recant their reports of violence, as well as the trial techniques that can be used in the event that victims are unavailable to testify or recant their testimony.

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

  • Identify overt and subtle forms of intimidation;
  • Proactively investigate intimidation; and
  • Litigate motions to admit evidence under the Forfeiture by Wrongdoing doctrine.

Additional resources related to this episode:

Posted on

Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Technology Changes, Abuse Doesn’t

This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV). In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV. 

In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor Jon Kurland discuss the role of technology in intimate partner violence cases. They explore how offenders misuse technology to perpetrate crimes and assert power and control, and they offer strategies for litigating the admissibility of digital evidence and protecting victim privacy.

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

  • Keep up to date with technology and trends;
  • Litigate admissibility of digital evidence; and
  • Protect victim privacy.

Additional resources for this episode:

Posted on

Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Collaboration is Key: Working with Victim Service Professionals

This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV).  In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV. 

In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor Patti Powers discuss the importance of working closely with victim service professionals in intimate partner violence cases. They explore how prosecutors and victim service professionals can work collaboratively to ease common tension points while protecting victim privacy and ensuring that survivors have meaningful access to services.

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

  • Identify opportunities to enhance collaboration;
  • Communicate to build trust between victim services professionals and prosecutors; and
  • Leverage collaborative relationships to enhance victim safety and participation.

Additional resources related to this episode:

Posted on

Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Recognizing and Minimizing Barriers to Justice

This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV).  In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV. 

In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor Patti Powers discuss strategies for holding offenders accountable while prioritizing victims’ safety, privacy, and autonomy. The discussion highlights the different types of trauma a victim may experience, how an offender’s use of power and control can affect a victim’s ability to participate in the criminal justice process, methods for increasing victim participation, and strategies for holding the offender accountable when the victim is unable to participate.

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

  • Identify how offenders inflict and compound trauma;
  • Maximize victim participation by minimizing barriers; and
  • Balance offender accountability with being victim-centered.

Additional resources related to this episode:

Posted on

Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: The Power and Control Wheel: Spoke by Spoke

This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV). In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV.

In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor John Wilkinson discuss common dynamics of power in control in cases of intimate partner violence. John and Jane break down each spoke of the Power and Control Wheel to highlight how an understanding of these dynamics can guide victim interviews, support bail arguments, provide context for 404(b) motions, and help explain victim responses to juries.

At the conclusion of this episode, viewers will be better able to:

• Use the Power and Control Wheel to identify offender tactics;

• Present evidence of offender tactics; and

• Collaborate with allied professionals to develop appropriate safety plans.

Additional resources related to this episode:

The Sasha Center Model: Black Women’s Triangulation of Rape – http://sashacenter.org

Posted on

Coercive ‘Love’: The Intersection between Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking

Human traffickers control their victims through force, fraud, and coercion. In the case of intimate partner sex trafficking, these methods of control are uniquely manipulative and difficult to identify. Understanding the historical and circumstantial factors that lead to vulnerabilities exploited by traffickers in these relationships allows law enforcement and prosecutors to more successfully address and minimize harm to victims while effectively investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases.

This presentation describes how, in addition to violence and threats, traffickers exploit feelings of love and loyalty to maintain power over their victims and perpetrate sex trafficking and related crimes. The presenters discuss the importance of identifying victims of intimate partner human trafficking to ensure victim safety and provide access to services and support, while at the same time articulating offender conduct to ensure they are held accountable for their actions.

Posted on

First, Do No Harm: Facilitating a Trauma-Informed Response

Trauma is a direct result of the abuse and exploitation that offenders inflict on victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. This acute trauma, often compounded with historical trauma, impacts survivor’s ability to fully participate in the criminal justice process. As a result, a collaborative, trauma-informed response that takes historical context into consideration is essential to ensuring survivor access to justice while improving community safety.

This presentation describes various forms of trauma that victims may experience throughout their lives and as a result of an offender’s victimization. Presenters define cultural humility as a key element of a successful trauma-informed response that improves our individual, collective, and systematic responses to survivors. Additionally, the presenters provide strategies to identify, document, and introduce evidence of trauma to improve case outcomes and community safety by holding offenders accountable.

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

• Identify signs and symptoms of trauma, and implement trauma-informed practices

• Enhance victim safety, privacy, autonomy, and participation through collaboration with allied professionals

• Practice cultural humility while preparing cases to proceed, regardless of a victim’s ability to participate in the process