Resources: 4.4 Legal Services

Legal Needs

Guides and Tools for Attorneys

• Ensuring Full Restitution for Trafficking Victims: An Overview of Mandatory Restitution Awards Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2013) This article, from the National Crime Victim Law Institute, reviews laws related to obtaining restitution, as well as methods to calculate the amount to request.
• No Wrong Door: A Comprehensive Approach to Safe Harbor for Minnesota's Sexually Exploited Youth - This document provides an overview to Minnesota’s Safe Harbor law and the policies that affect sexually exploited youth in the state.
• Voices for Victims: Lawyers Against Human Trafficking Tool Kit for Bar Associations This toolkit provides bar associations with resources to host outreach and awareness events, and may assist with recruiting pro bono attorneys.
• Assisting Human Trafficking Victims With Return of Property and Restitution (2014) This article covers issues that arise in the retrieval of a victim’s property and provides strategies for the use of restitution as a means of relief.
• Application of Protection Remedies for Victims of Domestic Abuse, Human Trafficking, and Crime Under U.S. Law to Persons Physically Present in the U.S. Territories (2007) This report documents information regarding legal considerations for U.S. territories that are different from states.
• A Guide for Legal Advocates Providing Services to Victims of Trafficking (2004) This resource provides detailed direction for legal advocates working with victims of human trafficking. It was developed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Migration and Legal Services, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.
• Identification and Legal Advocacy for Trafficking Survivors, 3rd Edition*, New York Anti-Trafficking Network (2009) Created by the New York Anti-Trafficking Network, this manual provides guidance to attorneys on issues that arise in the context of representing trafficking survivors. The manual is designed for practitioners who are familiar with basic legal terms and concepts, to offer some insight into the process.
• ABA, Meeting the Legal Needs of Human Trafficking Victims: An Introduction for Domestic Violence Attorney’s and Advocates, 2009  This guide serves as an overview of the unique issues and remedies that are often present in human trafficking cases.
• Legal Services Assessment for Trafficked Children - Cook County, Illinois Case Study (2013) This project focuses on assessing legal needs for child trafficking victims in Cook County, as well as challenges and best practices in other regions of the United States. It includes a preliminary assessment of legal services for child trafficking victims offered by various organizations around the country.
• American Bar Association, Voices for Victims: Lawyers Against Human Trafficking Took Kit for Bar Associations (2013) The tool kit was developed to accompany the film and assist state, county, city, and local bar associations in hosting events and panel discussions regarding human trafficking as a means to raise public awareness. In this toolkit you will find: Common Myths about Human Trafficking, A Guide for Choosing Potential Speakers, Sample Questions for Speakers, Glossary of Terms, and Resources.
• Know your Rights Videos DOL's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) developed the “Know Your Rights” video series in English and Spanish to provide workers with useful basic information in different scenarios. The nine videos provide information on the federal minimum wage, when overtime pay is due, when an employer has to pay an employee, whether off-the-clock work is compensable or not, who is an employee and who is an independent contractor, rights of young workers, whether or not seasonal workers are subject to wage and hour laws, and how and what is needed to file a complaint with WHD.
• Civil Litigation on Behalf of Human Trafficking Victims (2008) Created by the Southern Poverty Law Center, this resource is an introduction to basic litigation tools for attorneys representing trafficked clients.

Victims’ Rights

• Crime Victims have the Right to Retained Counsel's Presence During Investigative Interviews (2014) This document, from the National Crime Victim Law Institute, details the right of victims to retained counsel present during investigative interviews. Due process requires informing victims of this right and then accommodating counsel's presence.
• VictimLaw VictimLaw is a user-friendly searchable database of victims' rights legal provisions including federal, state, and territorial statutes, Tribal laws, state constitutional amendments, court rules, administrative code provisions, and summaries of related court decisions and attorney general opinions, developed by OVC TTAC.
• National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) Victim Law Library The NCVLI victim Law library contains crime victim law publications and recorded trainings. Materials are organized by topic and may be accessed by selecting the relevant right, victim type, or procedural posture.  All information is educational and intended for informational purposes only; it does not constitute legal advice, nor does it substitute for legal advice. For more information about NCVLI publications, click here.
• NCVLI Protecting Victims’ Privacy: Moving to Quash Pretrial Subpoenas Duces Tecum for Non-Privileged Information in Criminal Cases
• NCVLI Crime Victims Have the Right to Retained Counsel’s Presence During Investigative Interviews
• Crime Victims' Rights Act of 2004 (18 U.S.C. § 3771) The CVRA of 2004 was enacted to ensure that crime victims are notified of their rights (notice of court proceedings, right to be present and to be heard at pubic proceedings, right to restitution, etc.).
• Crime Control Act of 1990, Child Victims' Rights (18 U.S.C. 403 §3509) This act authorizes alternatives to live in-court testimony of child victims, competency examinations, protection of privacy, victim impact statements, use of multidisciplinary child abuse teams, and more.
• Immigration Options for Victims of Crime U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created this brochure to inform law enforcement agents, social service providers, and others about the Violence Against Women Act, U nonimmigrant status, and T nonimmigrant status.
• Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes (18 U.S.C. § 3663A (a)(2)) This right ensures that victims may be reimbursed for treatment for physical injury or pecuniary loss incurred in the course of the criminal activity.
• Victims' Rights Clarification Act of 1997 (18 U.S.C. § 3510) This amendment to Title 18, U.S.C. gives further assurance to the right of victims of crime to attend the trials of those accused of the crime.
• Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. § 10601-10603) This 1984 legislation established a crime victims fund from fines collected from convicted offenders. The funds are distributed through state victim assistance and compensation programs.

Immigration Relief

• National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project Resource Library This resource contains hundreds of resources on the legal rights of immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking and other crimes.
• NLRB Memo: Updated Procedures in Addressing Immigration Status Issues that Arise During Unfair Labor Practice Proceedings (PDF 142 KB) (2011) This memo provides updated procedures that will apply when immigration status issues are raised during the National Labor Relations Board investigations and proceedings.
• National Immigration Law Center The NILC Web site provides information about eligibility and other rules governing immigrants’ access to federal and state public benefits programs.

T & U Nonimmigrant Visa

• A New Understanding of Substantial Abuse: Evaluating Harm in U Visa Petitions for Immigrant Victims of Workplace Crime (2015) This article, from the University of California Davis, provides a comprehensive examination of abuse and mental health of labor trafficking victims in the context of qualifying for U visas.
• Evidence Checklist: For Immigration Victims Applying for the Crime Victim Visa (U Visa) This checklist is a sample tool to assist immigration practitioners with providing evidence and documentation required for a U visa application.
• US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) - T & U Nonimmigrant Visa Information and Forms USCIS helps protect victims of human trafficking and other crimes by providing immigration relief. This site explains the two types of immigration relief provided to victims of human trafficking and other crimes.
• Winning U Visas: Getting the Law Enforcement Certification (2008) This LexisNexis article describes the U visa requirements, with a focus on strategies for building relationships with law enforcement.
• Department of Labor U and T Visa Process and Protocols Q&A Questions and answers provided by the U.S. Department of Labor about U and T visa processes and protocols.
• EEOC Procedures: Requesting EEOC Certification for Immigration Classification (U Visa) Petitions in EEOC Cases (2013) This guide provides an overview of procedures that apply to requests for EEOC to certify petitions for U Nonimmigrant Status pursuant to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000.
• U Visas for Victims of Crime in the Workplace: A Practical Manual (2014) This National Employment Law Project practice manual describes the U visa and its application to workplace crimes.