Prosecution Foundations: Educating the Judge and Jury about the Realities of Human Trafficking

Jane Anderson brings her expertise in prosecuting domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking to her role as an Attorney Advisor with AEquitas. Prior to joining AEquitas, Jane served as a prosecutor in Miami, Florida where she tried many of the state's first human trafficking cases. In her role as a founding member of the Human Trafficking Unit, Jane developed policies to better identify and provide necessary services to trafficking victims, while ensuring offender accountability through the use of digital evidence and creative charging decisions. Jane also served as a supervisor in the Domestic Violence Unit, where she trained new attorneys and oversaw the prosecution of domestic violence, stalking, and violations of protection orders. Throughout her career, Jane prosecuted felony-level crimes of all types, including homicide, kidnapping, and sexual assault. Currently, Jane’s responsibilities include serving as a member of the IACP technical assistance team and as ICF’s “field coach” for human trafficking prosecutors around the U.S. Jane graduated cum laude from American University, Washington College of Law and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Miiko Anderson is an Attorney Advisor at AEquitas. Ms. Anderson is a Congressional Award-winning retired Senior Prosecuting Attorney and a Certified Criminal Specialist. In April 2023, Ms. Anderson received the prestigious Suzanne McDaniel Memorial Award for Public Awareness as part of the Congressional Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus for her work with Crime Victims and Survivors. Ms. Anderson is also an internationally recognized Subject Matter Expert in Human Trafficking and Gender-based violent crimes. As a specialty unit prosecutor, Miiko prosecuted Gang, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Human Trafficking cases. She has taken complex cases to jury trial and gained convictions and lengthy sentences on some of her jurisdiction's most violent offenders. Ms. Anderson is also an adjunct law professor, President of the Black Lawyers Association of Central California, and serves on the Board of Directors of Breaking the Chains. This non-profit organization provides resources to survivors of human trafficking. She has received multiple awards for her tireless efforts to serve her community.

Shea Smith joined the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 2022 as an intern on the Anti-Human Trafficking Team. She currently serves as a Project Associate on the Anti-Human Trafficking Team and works on the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program for Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Forces project. Prior to joining the IACP, Ms. Smith interned at the Office of Campus Safety and Emergency Management at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. Ms. Smith has a master’s degree in forensic and legal psychology from Marymount University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology with minors in forensic and criminal investigations and forensic psychology from Marymount University.