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Funding Opportunity: Innovative Prosecution Solutions FY’20

The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will be offering funding to state and local prosecutor’s offices for its FY’20 Innovative Prosecution Solutions for Combating Violent Crime (IPS) initiative. The IPS program supports prosecutor-led strategies for responding to violent crime and enhancing public safety.

Join BJA and AEquitas, the lead Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) provider on the IPS initiative, for a webinar on the upcoming solicitation. It will include a discussion of application eligibility and the application process, program requirements, and examples of previously successful proposals.

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Justice in the Time of COVID-19: Strategic Responses

Social distancing and quarantine measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected all aspects of our society, including the judicial system. While these public health measures are necessary to keep our communities safe and healthy, court closures and subsequent delays in case processing, as well as other social distancing measures, will require criminal justice professionals to adapt in order to continue holding offenders accountable while protecting their rights; meeting victim/witness needs; and maintaining public safety.

This panel discussion, featuring Nancy O’Malley, District Attorney of Alameda County, CA; Ed McCann, First Assistant District Attorney of Montgomery County, PA; and Sherry Boston, District Attorney of DeKalb County, GA, as well as AEquitas Attorney Advisors, will provide practical perspectives to help guide prosecutors and other criminal justice system actors through the broad scope of issues raised by COVID-19; current responses from prosecutor’s offices around the country; and logistical and legal strategies for ensuring justice while social distancing measures remain in place. Topics will include (but aren’t limited to) implications on constitutional and statutory rights; challenges in processing, collecting, and testing crucial evidence; jail overcrowding and requests for bail; and the continuity of victim/witness services.

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Reaching a Verdict: Guiding the Jury’s Response to the Evidence

After being thrust into an unfamiliar role in a complex system that is often equally unfamiliar, jurors in sexual assault cases face the daunting task of reaching a just verdict for a crime that is shrouded in misconceptions. In this foreign terrain, prosecutors serve as a trusted guide—pointing out familiar landmarks of personal experience and presenting witnesses and other evidence in a manner that makes them both understandable and relatable. By assisting jurors in forming personal connections to the evidence, the prosecutor can remove obstacles that might otherwise block the jury’s path to a just finding of guilt. 

This presentation will discuss ways to focus the jury’s attention on the evidence in a manner that accurately conveys the reality of sexual assault and assists jurors in rendering a fair and just verdict—beginning with jury selection and continuing through opening statement, presentation of evidence, and summation.  

Who Should View
Allied justice system professionals including but not limited to prosecutors, law enforcement officers, community-based service providers, medical and mental health practitioners, probation and parole officers, judges, etc. are encouraged to view this webinar recording.

CLE Credits
This one-hour webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for one (1.0) hour of continuing legal education credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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Investigating and Prosecuting Trafficking in Illicit Massage Businesses: Part 3

This portion provides an overview of how trauma impacts victims of IMBs and discusses practical trauma-informed interviewing techniques that help us build rapport with victims, investigate crimes, and develop stronger victim narratives. The presenters discuss making appropriate charging decisions, litigating pretrial motions to protect victim privacy, establishing the elements of the charges with or without victim participation, and educating the jury through voir dire, expert testimony, and effective witness examinations.

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Investigating and Prosecuting Trafficking in Illicit Massage Businesses: Part 2

This portion provides practical investigative strategies to build successful prosecutions of the owners, operators, and accomplices of IMBs. The presenters discuss enhancing investigations through partnerships with civil and criminal allied investigative agencies and service providers. They also provide an analytical framework for developing investigative strategies designed to identify and preserve evidence supporting a wide range of charges that can be prosecuted with or without victim participation.

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Investigating and Prosecuting Trafficking in Illicit Massage Businesses: Part 1

IMBs are venues disguised as legitimate massage or bodywork businesses in which women are forced, coerced, and defrauded into performing countless sex acts with strangers on a daily basis. This portion of the three-part series provides an overview of the illicit massage business (IMB) organizational model, which typically exists within one of many nationwide networks. The presenters discuss how women are recruited, harbored, and exploited within those networks. They also explore the challenges facing law enforcement and prosecutors, demonstrating the need for strategies to build evidence-based cases that can ensure that offenders are held accountable for their wide-ranging criminal activity.

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Human Trafficking and Toxicology

Human traffickers control their victims through force, fraud, and/or coercion. Coercion, specifically, can take many forms, including seeking out vulnerable victims facing substance abuse. In other cases, traffickers may introduce victims to drugs and alcohol to facilitate their crimes and establish additional control. Understanding basic toxicology better allows law enforcement, prosecutors, and medical professionals to recognize how drugs and alcohol affect a victim’s ability to disclose, participate in the criminal justice system, and recover from the trauma of trafficking.

This presentation will identify common dynamics in sex and labor trafficking and describe how drugs and alcohol are used to assert and maintain control over victims and perpetrate trafficking and trafficking related crimes. The presenter will discuss the importance of and strategies for collaborating with medical professionals to identify drug-facilitated human trafficking, provide much needed care, and educate other allied professionals about the effects of drug use in the context of trafficking dynamics

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Drugs as Coercion: Human Trafficking and Toxicology

Human traffickers control their victims through force, fraud, and/or coercion. Coercion, specifically, can take many forms, including seeking out vulnerable victims facing substance abuse. In other cases, traffickers may introduce victims to drugs and alcohol to facilitate their crimes and establish additional control. Understanding basic toxicology better allows law enforcement, prosecutors, and medical professionals to recognize how drugs and alcohol affect a victims’ ability to disclose, participate in the criminal justice system, and recover from the trauma of trafficking.

This webinar recording will identify common dynamics in sex and labor trafficking and describe how drugs and alcohol are used to assert and maintain control over victims and perpetrate trafficking and trafficking-related crimes. The presenter discusses the importance of and strategies for collaborating with service providers and medical professionals to identify drug-facilitated human trafficking, provide much-needed care, and educate other allied professionals about the effects of drug use in the context of trafficking dynamics.

Allied justice system professionals including (but not limited to) prosecutors, law enforcement officers, community-based service providers, probation and parole officers, judges, etc. are encouraged to view the recording.

CLE Credits
This webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for one (1.0) hour of continuing legal education credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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Expanding Our Reach: Prosecuting Intimate Partner Violence Against Victims Who Identify As LGBTQ+

Responding effectively to crimes of intimate partner violence against victims who identify as LGBTQ+ presents unique challenges. These victims may be reluctant to report the crimes for fear of being mistreated, criticized, or involuntarily outed in the process and when they do report, they may lack community support for continued engagement with the criminal justice proceedings. We can improve our response to these crimes and our ability to serve these victims by refining existing best practices to address LGBTQ+ issues and partnering with those who provide advocacy and other services in the LGBTQ+ community.

This presentation focuses on prosecution strategies to overcome these challenges and enhance our response. The webinar recording examines intimate partner violence in LGBTQ+ relationships and the additional hurdles these victims encounter when reporting the abuse and participating in the criminal justice process. The presenters also highlight considerations for communicating with victims and preparing them for trial, engaging with service providers to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ victims and witnesses, and educating judges and juries about dynamics of LGBTQ+ relationships.

Who Should View
Allied justice system professionals including but not limited to prosecutors, law enforcement officers, community-based service providers, medical and mental health practitioners, probation and parole officers, judges, etc. are encouraged to view this webinar recording.

CLE Credits
This one-hour webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for one (1.0) hour of continuing legal education credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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The ABCs of BAC: Toxicology for Prosecutors and Investigators

Alcohol’s unique toxicological effects, widespread use, and ease of access render it the ideal substance to facilitate sexual assault. The same factors that make alcohol such a perfect weapon also present unique challenges for investigators, prosecutors, and other allied professionals in alcohol-facilitated sexual assault (AFSA) cases. An understanding of basic toxicology principles is critical for investigators and prosecutors handling these challenging cases from investigation through sentencing to be able to hold offenders accountable for their criminal behavior. This webinar explains the toxicology of alcohol, as well as drugs, in lay terms that will help you understand how alcohol affects the body. Topics include alcohol metabolism, the disproportionate effect of alcohol on women and men, the mechanism of intoxication, an explanation of blackouts vs. pass outs, and other common toxicological issues. It also explores common issues and challenges related to the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases where alcohol is present.

This webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for 1 hour of continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.