November 2023

For my next several @EJA updates, I will be digging into the details of record relief legislation and highlighting what best practice legislation looks like for survivors. For these posts, I will be drawing from my publication in the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law “Criminal Record Relief for Human Trafficking Survivors: Analysis of Current State Statutes and the Need for a Federal Model Statute” as well as Polaris’ State Report Cards report. It also looks to states that received some of the highest rankings from that report.

For my November 2023 update, I will be addressing the areas of Legal Effect and Records Protection.

1. Legal Effect: This section considers the breadth of relief offered. The highest scores for legal effect are afforded those states that offer full relief. These are laws that return the survivor to pre-record status. For example, the statute both indicates vacatur on the merits and provides for records destruction in the same proceeding. As I discussed in my February 2023 Update, this is the most effective form of record relief.​

Vacatur on the merits is “the closest thing to a legal recognition that the survivor should not have been convicted in the first place. It indicates that had the court known all the information that is now available, the survivor would not have been convicted of the offense,” highlighting the substantive defect of the earlier proceedings. Polaris 2019 Report at 14.

2. Records Protection: Survivors frequently report that records they had gone through a legal process to clear still show up in background checks and other situations where these records could be used against them.

The rubric takes into account whether laws include language that make it clear these records should be destroyed or otherwise made permanently inaccessible. Full marks are given when the record is purged and not accessible by anyone.

3. Arrests & Adjudications: Whether the statute extends relief only to adjudicated findings of guilt or all elements of a record, such as arrests, juvenile adjudications, and non-prosecuted cases, dismissals. Best practice statutes comprehensively address all elements of a criminal record, not solely enumerated or non-violent offenses.

Providing record vacating for every form a criminal record can take allows survivors to move forward with their lives without the professional, educational, and other hurdles that come from having a residual criminal record.

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October 2023

For my next several @EJA updates, I will be digging into the details of record relief legislation and highlighting what best practice legislation looks like for survivors.

In March 2019, the national anti-trafficking organization Polaris, along with the Survivor Reentry Project, Brooklyn Law School, the University of Baltimore Law School, and numerous survivor consultants, released a report based on this data identifying the critical components of effective criminal record relief law. The report outlines a number of categories when determining the efficacy of a record relief statute for trafficking survivors.​

As I discussed in my January 2023 post, all but a handful of states and the federal government have some form of record relief statute for trafficking survivors. However, each of these statutes varies in the scope of relief they offer. As advocates across the country seek ways to improve care for survivors of trafficking, these disparities in relief efficacy are creating a legal gap among states. This can prove problematic for survivors because traffickers do not confine their trafficking activities to a single state’s borders.​

Victims who are compelled to commit crimes in different states during their trafficking experiences currently have varying access to record relief solely based on where they happened to be at the time they were exploited— something often entirely out of their control. Given the reality of trafficking, a uniform approach by the states would be the most effective way to assure survivors relief.

Since a uniform approach does not yet exist, I want to take some time to discuss Polaris's Report and highlight best practices for record relief for survivors.​

The report identifies a host of elements that factor into the efficacy of a record relief statute and divides those elements into eleven separate categories in which Polaris compares the at-issue state statute to the best practice they have identified for each category. The state's score in each category adds up to the grade its statute receives and Polaris has ranked every state on a list.​

I will spend my next several updates going through small groups of those elements in turn to discuss why they matter to survivors seeking relief.​

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September 2023

For my September 2023 Update, I will be diving into the barriers created by criminal records. This update draws from the Survivor Reentry Project training series and the video for this topic can be found here.

A criminal record demonstrates the reach of the criminal legal system separate and apart from detention. A record is created every time a person touches the criminal legal system where there is a risk of incarceration. A person does not necessarily have to have been detained or even arrested for a record to have been created. In fact, many people who have had criminal legal involvement aren’t aware of the extent to which their record follows them into the future.

A criminal record contains basic identifying information as well as a history of residence addresses, and what criminal offenses were charged (regardless of the outcome of the case). They can also contain physical descriptions of individuals including and distinguishing marks they may have, such as tattoos or perceived race/gender. In some jurisdictions they include information about tax liens and declarations of bankruptcy.

Two of the most significant impacts of a criminal record are the barriers created to future housing and employment. The National Survivor Network’s 2016 survey of 130 trafficking survivors reported that, of the 91% of respondents who had incurred records during the course of being trafficked, 73% faced employment barriers and 58% faced housing barriers.

Survivors with criminal records or convictions may also be disqualified from financial aid and private loans if they seek to continue their education. Polaris Report. They may lose or be unable to regain custody of their children. Survivor Reentry Project. They may not be able to access government benefits. Or they may face removal from the country or be barred from re-entry because they are a foreign national with a criminal conviction.

According to the SRP's guide, such a criminal record can serve as “a constant reminder of past abuse and a source of tremendous shame. Survivors often face the tragic dilemma of explaining to a potential employer or housing manager the source of their arrest or conviction and therefore must choose between sharing their trafficking experience or simply walking away from an opportunity.”

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April 2023

Today marks six months at @GBLS and a quarter of the way through my @Equal Justice America Human Trafficking Fellowship! Attached is a report which documents in detail the work I’ve accomplished over the last six months.

It has been a phenomenal opportunity to have my Equal Justice America project placed within Greater Boston Legal Service’s (GBLS) CORI & Re-entry Project.

Much of my work over the last six months has been a balance of (1) working directly with clients who have been impacted by criminalization and the devastating effects of a criminal record on securing employment, housing, and continuing education, as well as (2) focused legislative advocacy in order to improve record clearing opportunities for criminalized survivors for whom these effects are barriers to thriving and recovers, and (3) active coalition building with local and national partners.

I believe having a balance of work across these areas is the most effective way to approach justice-related work such as this project. I am able to work to provide direct relief to survivors who are facing barriers in this moment, while simultaneously thinking systemically about how to improve circumstances for survivors in the future who are not yet experiencing these barriers.

I have been so grateful for the opportunity to engage in this work for the past six months and look forward to all that will be accomplished during the remainder of my fellowship.

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March 2023

Over my first five months, I worked with a team from Jane Doe, Inc. (Massachusetts’ domestic violence coalition) and Boston University Law School’s Immigrant Rights & Human Trafficking Clinic to draft a bill which aims to expand access to record relief for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and trafficking (SDVT).

The bill, if passed, will eliminate the waiting period for sealing of criminal records if a survivor of SDVT can establish a connection between their victimization and criminal record and expand availability of expungement, vacatur and affirmative defense for survivors of SDVT who can show their criminal acts were as a result of their victimization.

On January 11, 2023, our team met with interested legislators and their staffers to discuss the need for the bill and what we hope it will accomplish. I provided a brief overview and fielded questions about the need for record relief for survivors and how this bill would go far to expand access to record relief.

The bill was filed on January 20, 2023 by Senators Adam Gomez and Liz Miranda in the Senate and Representatives Tram Nguyen and Christine Barber under the name “An act supporting survivors of trafficking and abuse and encouraging increased access to opportunities through expungement and/or sealing of records.”

Our team is now engaged in an awareness-raising campaign to garner organizational sign-ons and additional legislative co-sponsorships. The legislative session will run throughout the rest of the year.

If you are a Massachusetts resident and are interested in engaging in advocacy for this bill, you can engage in the following steps:

• Fill out this form to be added as a supporting organization/individual: https://tinyurl.com/yc6y98hj
• Email your legislator at: https://www.votervoice.net/GBLS/Campaigns/100809/Respond and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor of the bill!
• Direct message me if you’re interested in further efforts!

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February 2023

As I continue to provide services to trafficking survivors with criminal records through the Greater Boston Legal Services CORI & Re-entry Project, I think it would be helpful to break down what protections Massachusetts provides to survivors looking to clear their records.

Before that, I want to give a brief overview of what exactly I mean when I say “record clearing.” Record clearing, or criminal record relief, provides an avenue for survivors to clear their records of charges obtained from crimes their traffickers forced, coerced, or compelled them to commit, or which they committed as a means of survival or coping. A cleared record would not appear on a standard background check and would not be visible to employers and landlords. There are three primary forms of record relief: sealing, expungement, and vacatur.​

Record-sealing is the least effective of these options when it stands alone because the conviction remains; sealing only hides it from public view. While a sealed conviction would not turn up on a standard background check, a court order can still allow a party access to the sealed record.​

Records that are expunged, while inaccessible to the public, can remain visible to certain government agencies, and prosecutors have the option to use the conviction against the survivor in later legal proceedings.​

Vacatur, particularly when it is paired with automatic sealing, is the next most effective option because it exonerates the survivor of any guilt and can remove every trace of the record from the criminal record system.​

Additionally, pardons, a forgiveness of the offense by the Governor, go even further and relieve all collateral consequences based on state law.

In 2018, Massachusetts passed its first trafficking-specific vacatur statute. The statute provides that offenses related to prostitution and simple possession of a controlled substance are able to be vacated if the applicant can establish they were a trafficking victim at the time of the offense and that they committed the offense as a result of their being trafficked.

However, as I mentioned in a previous post, the range of offenses for which survivors are arrested and prosecuted is far broader than just these two categories.

Massachusetts has other general record clearing laws that are available to survivors just as they are to the rest of the population, but the current vacatur statute remains the only specific remedy for survivors.

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January 2023

For my January @EJA Human Trafficking Fellowship update, I’ll provide some context on trafficking-specific record clearing and how this issue is being addressed across the country. As discussed in my previous update, it is abundantly apparent that the incursion of records is a frequent issue trafficking survivors face during and after exiting their trafficking experience.​

In 2010, New York became the first state to create a law which allowed survivors of trafficking to vacate prostitution and related convictions that were a result of having been trafficked. The law became a model for legislation in other states to follow and now, all but three states and the federal government have followed suit and have some form of record relief on the books for trafficking victims.​

However, each of these statutes varies in the scope of relief they offer. As advocates across the country seek ways to improve care for survivors of trafficking, these disparities in relief efficacy are creating a legal gap among states. This can prove problematic for survivors because traffickers often do not confine their trafficking activities to a single state’s borders.​

Victims who are compelled to commit crimes in different states during their trafficking experiences have varying access to record relief solely based on where they happened to be at the time they were exploited— something often entirely out of their control. Given the reality of trafficking, a uniform approach by the states would be the most effective way to assure survivors relief. But, with the wide disparity of protection among states, that vision unfortunately appears to still be a long way off.

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December 2022

I’d like to use this @Equal Justice America Fellowship update to discuss the need for my Human Trafficking Fellowship at @GBLS. But before I do that, I think it is helpful to lay a foundation on what exactly I’m talking about when I say “human trafficking.”

Human trafficking is generally defined as the “recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, involuntary servitude or debt bondage by means of force, fraud, or coercion.” 22 U.S.C. § 7102(11). I tend to boil this down to the idea of compelled work. In labor trafficking, this means workers may feel like they have to keep working for someone even if they don’t want to. In sex trafficking, this occurs when a minor (under 18) is given anything in exchange for any sex act or when an adult (over 18) is coerced or forced into commercial sex by someone else. Freedom Network USA.

Often, as part of the trafficking scheme, the trafficker will coerce or force the person they’re exploiting into engaging in criminal activity. In one survey of 130 trafficking survivors conducted by the @National Survivor Network, over 90% of respondents reported that they had been arrested at least once during the course of being trafficked. And over half of all respondents believed that 100% of the arrests, charges, and convictions they had incurred were directly related to their trafficking experience.

These charges can vary widely in nature depending on a host of factors such as: how a trafficker exploits their victim, the types of crime law enforcement in a given district enforces and in what way, and on the systemic injustices a given victim may be vulnerable to.

For sex trafficking victims, these crimes are frequently prostitution charges, but may also include other charges such as weapons, drugs, financial crimes, and identity theft. Labor traffickers, like sex traffickers, can also benefit from forcing a victim to commit illegal acts such as selling or cultivating drugs or, commonly at the U.S. border, forcing individuals to be drug mules or bring people into the country illegally. Additionally, other common offenses for labor trafficking can include possession of false identification documents, financial crimes, or other minor offenses such as trespassing. Minors who are trafficked are often charged with status offenses such as truancy and running away.​ Survivor Reentry Project.

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November 2022

For my Fellowship, I am working within the @Greater Boston Legal Service “Criminal Offender Record Information” (CORI) & Re-entry Project. This project was started in 2008 in response to numerous requests for help with the devastating effects of criminal records.

The Project provides a host of services to clients with criminal records who are interested in having those records cleared. The Project provides direct services, hosts regular record sealing clinics, provides trainings on sealing to Boston-area pro bono attorneys, creates pro bono self-help materials, and engages in impact advocacy through appellate and legislative means.

The Project focuses on areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment, common results of a criminal record. “In general, work is the pathway to a better life and out of poverty, but past criminal records stop countless people from getting jobs, housing, and access to other opportunities.” CORI Project.

My Fellowship is focused on the effects criminal records have on survivors of trafficking. In my next update, I will discuss the common theme of forced and coerced criminality of trafficking survivors and why this Fellowship project can be such a benefit to survivors in Massachusetts.

Here are some highlights of the things I have accomplished in my first month at GBLS:

• Created promotional materials for the launch of the Trafficking Survivor Conviction Relief Initiative and distributed to area organizations and at clinic outreach events
• Added trafficking screening questions to CORI Project’s Intake form
• Conducted intakes at bi-weekly Boston Bar Association CORI Clinics and assisted clients in applying for sealing
• Provided trainings to area advocates on trafficking screening and record relief

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October 2022

With the support of the Equal Justice America Human Trafficking Fellowship, I recently began work in Greater Boston Legal Services’ CORI & Re-entry Project. In this role, GBLS and I will launch an innovative and first-of-its-kind project for Massachusetts which focuses on three areas:

1. Providing direct legal assistance to survivors related to criminal record sealing, expungement, vacatur, pardons, and appeals;

2. Conducting outreach and trainings to community organizations providing services to survivors to educate them about criminal record relief options; and

3. Engaging in legislative advocacy and policy work to improve and pass new laws related to the criminalization of survivors.

This project’s proposed casework and systemic reform work is informed by the experiences and needs of survivors. Trafficking victimization and other barriers to recovery and financial stability are a result of the legacy and institutionalization of racism and other forms of oppression. Vacatur, record clearance, and pardons are remedies that are life-changing for individuals who were trafficked and are trapped in poverty or unemployment based on their criminal record.

In 2016, National Survivor Network released a survey it had conducted of 130 trafficking survivors. Over 90% of respondents reported they had been arrested at least once during the course of being trafficked. Over half indicated that 100% of their arrests, charges, and convictions were directly related to their trafficking experience. The types of charges can vary widely in nature depending on the trafficking scheme that was employed against the survivor.

During my time working in the University of Michigan Law School Human Trafficking Clinic, and in researching for publication, the great need for record clearing advocacy for survivors of trafficking became abundantly clear.

I am so grateful to EJA for the opportunity to engage in this crucial work! Keep an eye out for further updates on why this project is of such great need.