Being assigned a homicide case is one of the greatest responsibilities given to an individual prosecutor. While these cases invite tremendous scrutiny and demand intense preparation, one aspect that prosecutors rarely receive any formal training in is how to work with the family and friends of the deceased victim. Even though prosecutors are in the business of helping, this gap can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary frustrations in an often opaque and stressful process.

This presentation will focus on strategies a prosecutor can use to work with the family and friends of homicide victims by looking for ways to increase education about the system generally as well as explain in a trauma-informed way the strengths and challenges of an individual case. Focus will also be given to exploring the legal obligations and limitations that may arise in working with a homicide victim’s family.

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be better able to:
– Understand obligations and the benefits of consistently notifying a homicide victim’s family of case updates.
– Develop strategies to navigate situations when a homicide victim’s family may be adversarial and how to mitigate such circumstances from arising.
– Educate homicide victims’ families about unique circumstances such as those involving juvenile defendants, death penalty cases, and cold cases.

This project was supported by 15JOVW-24-GK-03009-MUMU awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.