Responding to Violence

Against Women

Training and Events

NCVLI conducts trainings on a variety of victims’ rights issues, from an overview of rape shield laws to the impact of trauma on victims of domestic violence.  Using webinars, teleconferences, and in-person trainings we are able to reach attorneys and advocates across the country with our trainings.

Request a Training

NCVLI frequently travels to other states to present trainings on a variety of topics.  If you would like to request a training, please fill out this form. Or, send us an email and suggest a topic for a future training.

Upcoming Trainings

Please check back for upcoming trainings.

Selected Previous Trainings 

• • Jury Selection and Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases, Christine Herrman, J.D., Executive Director of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force and a former prosecutor of sexual assault cases, and Alison Wilkinson, J.D., Violence Against Women Project Director at NCVLI
    

     Although reports of sexual assault have increased in the past 20 years, conviction rates have remained static.  Research has shown that jurors in sexual assault cases assess the evidence presented through the lens of commonly-held misconceptions and myths about rape and rape victims.  Convincing a jury to examine and abandon their biases in order to reach a just verdict is a difficult task.  This webinar will examine studies that show how jurors really decide sexual assault cases; will offer suggestions on how to creatively select a jury in light of common biases; and will address how a victims’ attorney can participate in this process most effectively. 
• Psychological and legal considerations when working with victims of domestic violence: The impact of trauma on the brain, Chris Wilson, PsyD., and Alison Wilkinson, J.D., Violence Against Women Project Director at NCVLI

Most victims of domestic violence are subjected to on-going abusive behavior that results in the victim feeling like she is “going crazy.”  This presentation will look at neurobiological considerations, as well as the invalidating dynamics of abusive behavior, for understanding the impact of this trauma.  Participants will have a better understanding of the neurobiology of trauma, the invalid dynamics of abuse, and why their clients may be ambivalent about participating in the criminal justice system.  While a victim of domestic violence may not always choose to participate in the criminal justice system, this seminar will also equip the participant with an understanding of which victims’ rights may be particularly germane to the domestic violence victim, such as the rights to privacy and protection. 

• Navigating Victims’ Rights in Campus Sexual Assault Cases, Shelley Mactyre, J.D., and Meg Garvin, M.A., J.D., Executive Director of NCVLI

Most, if not all, victims know that if they are bringing a civil suit, they would benefit from having an attorney.  Additionally, NCVLI has actively been training attorneys and advocates across the nation on the importance of victims’ rights attorneys in the criminal justice process so that victims can be aware of, assert, and enforce their statutory and constitutional rights.  However, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a gap in services for victims of campus sexual assault.  A victim of sexual assault on campus often does not fit neatly into the “civil” or “criminal” realm because, as a first resort, most victims rely on campus administrative proceedings.  This can occur for a number of reasons - for instance, the victim chooses not to pursue criminal charges immediately; or it simply takes longer for criminal proceedings to unfold than it does for administrative proceedings.  

During this webinar, the presenters discuss civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with campus sexual assaults, and the importance of a victim’s attorney in each of these proceedings.  For a victim to go unrepresented can have severe consequences for victims.  For example, victims may feel bullied by the administrative process (where the offender is often represented) and choose to forego involvement in the proceeding; or they may turn over privileged documents that could be used to their detriment in a subsequent criminal proceeding.

• Rape Shield: Using Victims’ Rights Laws to Enforce Privacy Rights, Keli Luther, Senior Attorney at the Arizona Voice for Crime Victims, and Alison Wilkinson, Attorney with NCVLI

   Listen to a recording of this training by clicking here.

Although every state has some rape shield protections, very few rape shield provision explicitly allow the victim to be present at those hearings.  Additionally, under the rape shield provisions the victim is seldom explicitly allowed to appeal or seek other review if the defendant is successful in allowing the introduction of a victim’s past sexual history.  Those rape shield provisions that do allow for appeal tend to permit it only through the prosecutor, not through the victim (or his or her attorney) directly.  Teleconference presenters discuss rape shield laws in connection with victims’ statutory and constitutional rights under their states’ victims bills of rights.  The presenters discuss the case of Doe v. United States, 666 F.2d 43 (4th Cir. 1981), which held that victims do have standing to challenge adverse rulings at rape shield hearings, and the possible reasons why the case law has not advanced in terms of a victim’s ability to enforce the rape shield laws since this nearly 30-year old case was decided.  The presenters also discuss how victims’ rights provisions can be leveraged to allow victim participation in rape shield proceedings and to create avenues for appellate review.

• Quashing Subpoenas in Criminal Proceedings: Enforcing a Victim’s Right to Privacy, Heidi Nestel, Executive Director of Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic, Alison Wilkinson, Attorney with NCVLI, and Meg Garvin, Executive Director of NCVLI

    Listen to a recording of this training by clicking here.

In an attempt to access private and often confidential victim information in criminal proceedings, defendants are routinely serving subpoenas and other discovery requests on victims, their families, and third parties.  The private and sensitive victim information sought often includes medical and counseling records, juvenile records, diaries, e-mails, and educational records.  Teleconference presenters discuss the defense strategy of using pretrial discovery to obtain victim information and will offer concrete enforcement and practice pointers on how to quash these discovery requests.  The presenters also discuss potential remedies when third parties turn over private information without notice to the victim.

• The Aftermath of Giles v. California: Are a Killer’s Prior Threats Against His Victim Admissible?, Professor Doug Beloof, Lewis & Clark Law School, and NCVLI’s founder and current Board Member

    A recording will be available soon for this training.

Professor Beloof discusses the United States Supreme Court case Giles v. California, focusing on its impact on the forfeiture by wrongdoing doctrine and its implications for prosecution of domestic violence, and how we can ensure that victims’ voice continues to be heard during criminal prosecution.