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Countering Witness Intimidation: Forfeiture by Wrongdoing

Witness intimidation and manipulation factor into almost every domestic violence prosecution. Abusers engage in these tactics because they often work. When witness intimidation is successful, victims decline to participate in the prosecution, they minimize the abuse on the witness stand, or they testify on behalf of the abuser.

But what if we eliminate the payoff for the would-be intimidator? Coordinated efforts by police, prosecutors, and advocates in the form of safety planning, expedited prosecution, victim education, and other strategies can reduce the opportunities for intimidation, thereby increasing the likelihood that victims will feel safe testifying in court. And prosecution strategies, from charging intimidation-related offenses to filing motions to admit out-of-court statements by victims who have been intimidated into silence, can actually increase the likelihood of conviction and the penal consequences for the intimidator. This presentation focuses on forfeiture by wrongdoing as a solution in the case of witnesses who are unavailable for trial due to the offender’s wrongful conduct.

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

• Reduce opportunities for intimidation.

• Educate victims about intimidation.

• Preserve evidence of intimidation that will help to convict the abuser, regardless of whether (or how) the victim testifies.

• Litigate motions to admit evidence under the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing.

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Part III: The Principles of Witness Protection

Join AEquitas for the third of a three-part webinar series that explores the ways in which offenders and their allies intimidate victims and witnesses of crime, the effects of intimidation on the criminal justice system response, and the methods for preventing and responding to witness intimidation. Part III of the series focuses on the principles of witness protection, which include tactical considerations, addressing the trauma to the victim/witness, and supporting lifestyle changes. The presenter discusses the importance of determining whether an imminent and credible threat against the life of a victim/witness exists by utilizing a dynamic screening and threat assessment tool, understanding the impact of trauma on the path to change, and recognizing the signs of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others.

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Witness Intimidation Part II: Effective Use of Intimidation Evidence

Part II of the series discusses the identification, documentation, and effective use of evidence of intimidation at trial to hold offenders accountable. The presenter explores how to admit and present evidence to demonstrate the offender’s consciousness of guilt, to explain the absence of a witness, and to introduce an unavailable witness’s statements via the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing.

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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.

Legal Jiu-Jitsu for Prosecutors in IPV Cases – Forfeiture by WrongdoingDownload
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Institute on the Investigation and Prosecution of Child Pornography and Human Trafficking

AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson presented on human trafficking, child pornography, pretrial litigation, and witness intimidation along with Tabitha Gallerani (formerly of The Safe Center, Long Island) and Sgt. Grant Snyder (Minneapolis Police Department) on behalf of The Safe Center to an audience of government agency staff, human trafficking program staff, law enforcement officers and prosecutors.

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Safe Berks

AEquitas Attorney Advisors Vikki Kristiansson and Jonathan Kurland presented “Higher Education: Confronting the Reality of Sexual Assault,” “Strangulation Injury,” and “Improving the Justice System Response to Witness Intimidation” on behalf of Safe Berks in Reading, Pennsylvania.

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Human Trafficking Symposium

AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson presented “Ethical Considerations in Human Trafficking Cases” on behalf of the Pennsylvania State Police, Office of Homeland Security at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

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Annual Ending Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Conference

AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jonathan Kurland presented “Intimidation of Victims of Sexual Assault in Confinement” and “Criminal Meets Civil: Coordinating Our Responses” on behalf of the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (KASAP) in Lexington, Kentucky for an audience of dual sexual assault/domestic violence program staff, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and victim-witness specialists.