Matthew J. Ruff International Law Blog on Lawyers.com

California enacts new criminal laws relating to "human trafficking" in 2009.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 by Matthew J. Ruff

California has enacted new legislation pertaining to the crime of international human trafficking. The new statute (Penal Code 236.2) states that Law enforcement agencies must use due diligence to identify all victims of human trafficking, regardless of the citizenship of the person. When a peace officer comes into contact with a person who has been deprived of his or her personal liberty, a person suspected of lewd behavior or prostitution, or a victim of a crime of domestic violence or rape, the officer must consider whether the following indicators of human trafficking are present:

signs of trauma, fatigue, injury, or other evidence of poor care;
the person is withdrawn, afraid to talk, or his or her communication is censored by another person;
the person does not have freedom of movement;
the person lives and works in one place;
the person owes a debt to his or her employer;
security measures are used to control who has contact with the person;
the person does not have control over his or her own government-issued identification or over his or her worker immigration documents.

The new law also extends jurisdiction for prosecution as follows:

When charges alleging multiple violations of Penal Code section 236.1 (Human Trafficking) that involve the same victim or victims in multiple territorial jurisdictions are filed in one county pursuant to this section, the court shall hold a hearing to consider whether the matter should proceed in the county of filing, or whether one or more counts should be severed. The district attorney filing the complaint shall present evidence to the court that the district attorney in each county where any of the charges could have been filed has agreed that the matter should proceed in the county of filing. In determining whether all counts in the complaint should be joined in one county for prosecution, the court shall consider the location and complexity of the likely evidence, where the majority of the offenses occurred, the rights of the defendant and the people, and the convenience of, or hardship to, the victim or victims and witnesses.

The international outcry over these types of offenses makes prosecution very likely. Attorney Matthew Ruff is a California criminal defense lawyer based in Los Angeles and has defended thousands of criminal cases over the last fifteen years. If you or someone you know is facing criminal prosecution in Los Angeles California, contact him immediately for advice on how your rights can be protected and additional information on this new legislation.

Posted at 10:49 AM

Topic: International Law

Lawyers.com^SM Blog

Get an inside view of
Lawyers.com

Blog Topics

Show All...

Bloggers

» Robert R. McGill (256)

» Matthew J. Ruff (132)

» Thomas J. Lamb (82)

» Brett A. Emison (72)

» Michael P. Ehline (70)

» Claudia Gr�goire (66)

» Steven M. Gursten (57)

» James W. Martin (49)

» Robert I. Feinberg (41)

» David Scott Hamilton (38)

Show All...

Martindale-Hubbell® Lawyers.com^SM is the most complete, trusted source for identifying qualified legal counsel.

Disclaimer: The information provided on Lawyers.com is not legal advice, Lawyers.com is not a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or should be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on Lawyers.com are paid attorney advertisements and do not in any way constitute a referral or endorsement by Lawyers.com or any approved or authorized lawyer referral service. Your access to and use of this site is subject to additional Terms and Conditions.