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Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Bringing the Victim’s Voice into the Courtroom

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 how to successfully prosecute cases of domestic violence, regardless of whether the victim is available to testify at trial. They discuss how to use the rules of evidence to litigate the admission of victims’ out-of-court statements and the ways in which expert witnesses can educate the judge and the jury on victim behavior and the effects of trauma.

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

  • Use jury selection as an opportunity to educate the jury;
  • Litigate the admission of victim statements; and
  • Offer expert testimony to explain victim behavior and provide context.

Additional resources related to this episode:

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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:

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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:

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Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Capturing Coercive Control

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 how offenders assert coercive control in abusive relationships, strategies for admitting evidence of coercive control to provide context to the violence, and when to charge co-occurring crimes. They explore how an offender’s coercive control tactics can be identified through interviews, investigation, and collaboration; how these tactics can be introduced as evidence in trial through 404(b) motions; and how coercive control may provide evidence to support additional charges, such as stalking.

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

  • Identify offenders’ tactics of coercive control tactics;
  • Litigate the admission of other crimes, wrongs, and acts; and
  • Analyze coercive control in relation to stalking.

Additional resources related to this episode:

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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:

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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

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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.

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Just Exits: Achieving Justice: The Prosecutor’s Role

The criminal justice system can serve as both an on-ramp to and an off-ramp from sex trafficking and exploitation. As gatekeepers within the criminal justice system, prosecutors are uniquely positioned to identify sexually exploited women and girls, make fair charging decisions, facilitate criminal record relief, and link survivors with services and support. In these ways, prosecutors can clear the way to a different life path and achieve justice for survivors. 

The presenters bring their lived and professional experience to this presentation, which emphasizes prosecutors’ duties to achieve justice over convictions and to proactively remedy wrongful convictions. Presenters discuss strategies for engaging survivors, avoiding wrongful criminalization, and providing access to just criminal record relief.

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Criminal Jury Trials During COVID-19: Prosecution Leadership for a New Era

This webinar addresses the potential impact of pandemic safety measures on criminal jury trials and strategies for protecting the integrity of the proceedings. Presenters discuss strategies for triaging delayed cases; considerations of constitutional rights, including the 6th amendment right to a speedy and public trial, the 6th amendment right to confrontation,  and the 1st amendment freedom of the press; the use of juror questionnaires as a way to minimize potential exposure to COVID-19 during jury selection; and methods for adapting prosecution strategies to virtual platforms.

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Digital Evidence Part I: The Investigative Stage — Recognition, Collection, Search

This two-part webinar series presented by the Denver District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with AEquitas, explores the scope of data available from sources of digital evidence and strategies on how such data can effectively be developed with forensically-sound practices. Presenters discuss theories of admission, rules of evidence, and “real life” examples to demonstrate how to properly authenticate and introduce digital evidence in court proceedings. Part I of the series explores the different types and sources of electronic data that are available to investigators; how such data can be properly collected, regardless of whether it is in a physical device or electronic records; and methods to facilitate searching and seizing data.