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Higher Education: Dispelling Myths to More Effectively Prosecute Campus Rape

Research shows the vast majority of sex offenders are non-stranger rapists and serial offenders. These offenders are often overlooked because they benefit from the common misconceptions and false expectations about a rapist’s relationship to their victim and the frequency of their offending. To more effectively identify, investigate, and prosecute non-stranger rapists on campus, prosecutors must overcome common myths and misconceptions about sexual violence, especially if judges and juries believe them. This webinar provides a comprehensive overview of sex offenders with an emphasis on non-stranger rapists and focuses on strategies for overcoming the unique challenges these offenders present on campus.

This webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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From Barriers to Solutions: Investigating and Prosecuting Human Trafficking

Human trafficking thrives in rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions across the country because it is routinely undetected, overlooked, or misidentified. Further, a lack of coordination between the criminal justice system and community-based programs results in a lack of victim identification and offender accountability. This webinar recording highlights key findings from an Urban Institute/Northeastern University report: “Identifying Challenges to Improve the Investigation and Prosecution of State and Local Human Trafficking Cases.” The presenter offers solutions for enhancing victim identification and safety and increasing offender accountability through the effective investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases.

This webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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Economic Justice for Victims

Economic abuse is one of the many ways that abusers achieve and maintain power and control over their intimate partners. Many such acts are criminal in and of themselves but are frequently overlooked when the focus is on physical abuse. Moreover, economic barriers prevent many victims from securing safety for themselves and their children. This webinar recording explores the ways in which economic insecurity and economic abuse affect victims and will suggest strategies to achieve economic justice in cases involving intimate partner violence, stalking, sexual violence, and human trafficking.

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.

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Disarming the Batterer: Intimate Partner Violence and Firearms

Firearms are the most frequently used weapons in intimate partner homicide, eclipsing all other weapons combined. As prosecutors, it is our responsibility to make the most of the available tools at our disposal to disarm violent offenders and increase the safety of victims and our communities. This webinar discusses: the danger posed by firearms in the hands of batterers; firearms prohibitions for domestic violence offenders under federal or state law; recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting federal firearms prohibitions; the importance of firearms surrender protocols.

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.

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Context is Everything: Battered Women Charged with Crimes

There are many dilemmas facing police, prosecutors, and allied professionals who deal with domestic violence, especially in cases where battered women have been charged with crimes. Mandatory arrest policies can lead to the arrest of victims exercising their right to self-defense or otherwise acting in response to the dynamics of the violent relationship. This webinar emphasizes the importance of contextual analysis in evaluating criminal responsibility at all stages of the criminal justice process. Such analysis will help to ensure that the dynamics of domestic violence are properly factored into decisions about arrest, charging, plea negotiations, and sentencing, and will enhance the quality of justice for those who have been victims of abuse.

This webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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The Prosecutors’ Resource on Forfeiture by Wrongdoing

Forfeiture by wrongdoing is a longstanding exception to a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him. If a defendant causes a witness to be unavailable for trial through his wrongful acts, with the intention of preventing that witness from testifying, then the introduction of the witness’s prior testimonial statements is not barred by the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This resource will review the origins and requirements of forfeiture by wrongdoing, examine its utility in domestic violence cases, outline trial strategies, and provide a checklist for hearings on forfeiture.

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Betraying the Badge: Officer-Involved Domestic Violence

Batterers who wear a badge can misuse their professional training and authority as weapons against their victims. Officers who are victims of intimate partner violence may be reluctant to identify as victims and may face negative professional consequences for reporting, or failing to report, the abuse. This webinar addresses: the complex dynamics of violence when one or both parties are in law enforcement; effective management of simultaneous administrative and criminal proceedings; provision of appropriate services for victims; and the mitigation of consequences for victim-officers who recant, fail to appear, or otherwise decline to participate.

This webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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A Study in Labor Trafficking: Modes, Means, and Methods of Organized Trafficking Operations

Labor trafficking organizations often operate clandestinely in legitimate venues and industries, causing victims to routinely go undetected or be misidentified. This webinar uses a case study to highlight the key findings from a recent Urban Institute/Northeastern University report. The presenters offer strategies for overcoming some of the barriers in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting labor trafficking, including how to apply the research to practical investigative techniques, overcome common misconceptions about labor trafficking, and effectively coordinate with allied professionals in the justice system, business community, and community-based programs.

This webinar recording should qualify prosecutors for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact their state bar association in reference to application requirements and related fees.

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#GUILTY: Identifying, Preserving, and Presenting Digital Evidence

Unfortunately, as technology becomes more integral to our lives, offenders increasingly misuse technology to facilitate crimes against women, and as a means to assert power and control in the course of an intimate partner relationship. This webinar demonstrates how cyber investigations can be used to reveal evidence of criminal activity, as well as evidence of the power and control dynamics of an abusive relationship. The presenter discusses theories of admission, rules of evidence, and case law using “real life” examples to demonstrate how to properly authenticate and introduce digital evidence in civil and criminal proceedings.

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.

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Alcohol- and Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault: A Survey of the Law

While the absence of laws covering the assault of a voluntarily intoxicated victim is often cited as a barrier to prosecuting sexual assault cases, the laws in all 58 U.S. jurisdictions allow for the prosecution of sexual assault cases in which the victim was voluntarily intoxicated. The language in some statutes, however, may not always include the assaultive conduct relevant to a specific case. Additionally, some sexual assault statutes do include an element requiring the victim’s intoxication to be caused by a perpetrator, without the victim’s knowledge, for the purpose of perpetrating a sexual assault. Because language among these statutes is not consistent and may not specifically refer to intoxicated victims, this Statutes in Review synthesizes the similarities and distinctions among the statutory language and summarizes AEquitas’ more comprehensive analysis of rape and sexual assault laws covering alcohol- and drug -facilitated sexual assault involving penetration in all jurisdictions in the country.

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