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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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Rape Shield

We have developed three individual resources on rape shield, to include a survey of United States statutes, a collection of relevant case law, and a chart surveying the rules of admissibility across the country.

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Strangulation

This resource includes a statutory compilation of strangulation crimes in the 50 states, District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, Military, and federal jurisdictions. Relevant case law is also included, where applicable, for each jurisdiction. AEquitas has also developed an additional document discussing the legislative response to strangulation.

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Spousal Immunity and Marital Privilege

This compilation focuses on criminal statutes on spousal immunity and privilege across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, Military and federal jurisdictions. This resource also looks at those statutes that recognize an exception to spousal immunity and privilege in crimes of intimate partner and domestic violence.

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Sexual Abuse in Confinement

This resource comprises a variety of cases from each state and also federal jurisdictions that involve criminal or administrative proceedings in which sexual abuse in confinement is a factor. These types of cases include: criminal cases in which some form of sexual abuse in confinement was charged or was raised as a defense; administrative disciplinary proceedings against inmates or staff involving allegations of sexual abuse in confinement; criminal cases in which evidence of the defendant’s prior acts of sexual abuse in confinement were presented for purposes of sentencing; appeals of post-sentence civil commitment proceedings in which evidence included acts of sexual abuse committed while in confinement; and civil cases presenting issues as to the investigation and response to reports of sexual abuse in confinement. This digest also includes case law from each state and federal jurisdiction.