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Investigating and Prosecuting the Intimidation of Victims of Sexual Abuse in Confinement

Victims who are sexually abused while incarcerated literally cannot escape their attackers. The confinement setting compounds the harm to the victims and makes them uniquely vulnerable to intimidation on the part of assailants or their allies. Intimidation hinders the investigation and prosecution of these cases, allows perpetrators to evade accountability, and turns confinement facilities into bastions for sexual abusers. This webinar identifies strategies for investigations and prosecutions that build trust in the criminal justice system and provide multiple safe and confidential means to report these crimes. It also discusses victim and witness safety, retaliatory violence, verbal and physical intimidation, and financial and emotional manipulation. The presenter explains the potential for intimidation and violence over the course of multiple cases or over time in a single case. The presenter also discusses the importance of policies and protocols to promote effective prosecution of these 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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Interviewing Victims of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation: Techniques and Tactics

Trafficking victims are difficult to interview for the same reasons they are difficult to identify. Traffickers manipulate, coerce, threaten, and commit acts of violence against victims, which may result in their inability or unwillingness to self-identify, report to law enforcement, or participate in the criminal justice process. Therefore, the ability to expediently and appropriately identify a victim of trafficking or exploitation is crucial, and often can be accomplished only through effective interviewing. This webinar highlights the importance of preparing for an interview by collaborating with community-based service providers and also explores a variety of interview techniques. The presenters discuss tools for law enforcement officers and prosecutors to use when developing their own questions and protocols for interviewing trafficking victims.

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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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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Ethical Considerations for Prosecutors in Sexual Violence Cases

Ensuring victim privacy and achieving justice in sexual violence cases requires prosecutors to have a firm grasp of their legal obligations as well as their ethical responsibilities throughout each stage of the criminal justice process. In addition to complex victim privacy issues, sexual violence cases present unique ethical challenges related to prosecutorial discretion, recantation, and disclosure of evidence. This webinar addresses these ethical considerations as well as charging decisions, immunity, the investigate function of a prosecutor, and trial publicity. The presenters use hypothetical case scenarios to challenge prosecutors to evaluate their decision-making in the context of ethical rules and principles.

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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Challenges Multiplied: Multi-Defendant Rape and Witnessed Rape

Multiple-offender and witnessed rape cases are becoming more prevalent and more complex due to the use of technology – particularly social media – to threaten and intimidate both victims and witnesses. The challenges to prosecution require innovative solutions to achieve justice while protecting victim privacy and witness safety.This webinar addresses issues that commonly arise in these cases, including: digital evidence; joinder and severance, immunity; principals and accessories; admissibility of evidence; witness intimidation; and common defenses.

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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Beyond Conviction Rates: Measuring Success in Sexual Assault Prosecutions

Prosecutorial effectiveness is commonly measured by conviction rates, largely because they are readily available. But, are conviction rates an accurate measure of success? Experienced prosecutors know they won’t win every case. In fact, some would argue that if you aren’t losing any cases, you aren’t trying the right ones. This presentation discusses promising sexual assault prosecution strategies as well as measuring effectiveness in a way that does not rely solely upon conviction rates. The presenters discuss other, more meaningful performance measures, and describe how they can be used to more accurately measure and sustain effective prosecution practices.

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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The Prosecutors’ Resource on Sexual Abuse in Confinement

Sexual abuse in confinement has persistently presented tremendous challenges to investigators and prosecutors because of internal and external barriers to reporting, including the behaviors, actions, and decision-making power of first responders that may result in the failure to make an official report to law enforcement. Additional challenges include issues related to evidence collection and retention, identification of witnesses, and multi-level biases against inmates. This resource provides an overview of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and national standards related to a victim-centered, offender-focused investigation and prosecution of a sexual abuse in confinement. The issue discusses detailed strategy for prosecuting these cases, including investigation, pretrial, jury selection, trial testimony and sentencing.

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