Engage in Open Charge Selection

The prosecutor should engage in open charge selection and not limit the matter to human trafficking-related offenses alone. Charge selection concerns how you choose among provable charges, not how you decide if a charge itself is supported by the evidence. To the degree you have evidentiary issues (such as the victim's credibility or state of mind), you may be inclined to include a safety-net charge to ensure the offender is convicted of at least one felony.

In the end, each count in the indictment must "carry its own weight" in the case; that is, each count must create a tactical or strategic advantage for the prosecution. Just because the elements of an offense might meet the facts adduced during the investigation, it is not enough to justify the presence of that offense in the charging instrument.

Examples of proper "charge advantages" include:

• Helping to establish the admissibility of key evidence
• Overcoming potential procedural bars, such as the statute of limitations
• Supporting the joinder of different defendants or charges within a single proceeding
• Avoiding compromise verdicts or ensuring the felonization of the defendants with "safety-net" charges (i.e., the inclusion of less serious but easier to prove violations)
• Increasing the ultimate sentence of the defendant or the availability of other remedies post-trial

For additional information and tools, visit the Resource page for 5.5 Strategies for Prosecution and Law Enforcement.