27 Securing a Future for Human Trafficking Survivors Like many human trafficking victims, “Lynn” was preyed upon by her abusers while still in her teens. She was trafficked by multiple abusers who ran a prostitution ring, brutalized by them, and ultimately arrested and convicted of prostitution- related offenses that she was forced to commit. After she broke free, she courageously testified against her traffickers even though she feared retribution. Her tormen- tors were ultimately convicted of sex trafficking and related crimes and incarcer- ated for their vicious abuse of her and others, yet Lynn’s criminal record unjustly branded her as a “prostitute.” As with other survivors who Mintz has represented, the label “prostitute” created barriers in Lynn’s life and perpetuated the harm caused by the men who trafficked her. Unlike many survivors in Massachusetts, Lynn was fortunate to have her prostitution- related offenses vacated. Mintz attorney Alec Zadek successfully sought a new trial for Lynn using a novel theory—that due to “battered woman syndrome,” at the time Lynn pleaded guilty to prostitution-related offenses, she was not in a position to adequately assist her counsel to defend her. Based on Alec’s argument, the courts that previously accepted Lynn’s guilty pleas vacated her pleas and set the case for trial. Immediately thereafter, the district attorney’s office voluntarily dismissed all charges against Lynn. While representing Lynn and other survivors, Alec and others at Mintz saw firsthand that vacating a survivor’s prostitution- related convictions could be life-changing. Lynn, for example, is now pursuing a career in political advocacy and is consider- ing attending law school. Mintz attorneys also recognized that they could only shepherd a limited number of victims through this time-consuming, often year-long process. So, in the summer of 2015, Alec and Julie A. Dahlstrom—who directs the Immigrants’ Rights & Human Trafficking Program at the Boston University School of Law—collaborated to attempt to change Massachusetts law by enacting legislation that would streamline the process for trafficking survivors to obtain post-conviction relief. By that fall, Alec and Julie, along with Mintz attorney Lavinia Weizel, had convened a working group to draft this legislation. After researching the laws of dozens of states with vacatur procedures, the working group created and approved a draft law. Alec and Lavinia then met with and gathered feedback from representatives of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, legal services organizations, bar associations, and other groups, which influenced their final draft of the legislation. Turning their proposal into law proved more daunting. Alec and Lavinia, with the ongoing assistance of former Mintz project analysts Sarah Engell and Eric Halliday, were guided by advice from ML Strategies Vice President of Government Relations Daniel Connelly and State Representative (and former Mintz attorney) Michael Day. Representative Day was a crucial champion for the draft legislation: he filed “An Act to Reduce Sexual Exploitation of Victims of Human Trafficking” in December 2015 and refiled it at the start of the Legislature’s 2017–2018 session. The proposed legislation was incorporated into an omnibus criminal justice reform law signed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in April 2018. “Mintz’s dedication to supporting human trafficking survivors was a major help in bringing much-needed reform to Massachusetts law on this issue. The new law helps survivors of human trafficking vacate the record of those crimes they were forced to commit while being trafficked and streamlines the post- conviction relief procedures for survivors. I enjoyed working with Alec again, and both Julie and Lavinia were great assets to the effort to pass this important legislation. Their knowledge of the issues, collaboration with other stakeholders, and commitment to this legislation helped move this bill into law.” Hon.Michael S.Day State Representative State of Massachusetts (continued)