LSU Law symposium to discuss improving criminal justice responses to sex trafficking

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Important conversations will be playing out on Friday, Oct. 28 during a symposium at LSU Law.

The “Improving Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Trafficking” symposium will feature La. First Lady Donna Edwards, as she discusses a resource center and advocacy campaign that she, along with Governor John Bel Edwards, launched in January.

The event will take place from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the McKernan Auditorium at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO ATTEND.

The following information was provided by LSU Law:

Louisiana First Lady Donna Edwards will join legal scholars, government officials, trafficking survivors, and survivor service providers at the “Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Trafficking” symposium at LSU Law on Friday, Oct. 28.

Presented by the George W. and Jean H. Pugh Institute for Justice, the symposium will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. in the McKernan Auditorium at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. The event is free and open to the public. Parking will be available at the Union Square parking garage adjacent to Barnes & Noble at LSU, just across the street from LSU Law. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to attend at www.law.lsu.edu/forms/pugh.

Edwards will deliver her remarks to open the symposium, and will speak about Louisiana's Human Trafficking Prevention Resource Center and advocacy campaign, which she and Gov. John Bel Edwards—a 1999 graduate of LSU Law—officially launched in January. The campaign, which is the first of its kind in the state, is called “Stop Trafficking LA: Human Trafficking is R.E.A.L.,” with the acronym standing for Recognizing the signs, Educating others, Acting immediately, and Listening to victims and survivors.

“It is alarming to know that the egregious crime of human trafficking happens every day in our communities in plain sight. I'm proud that my husband, Gov. John Bel Edwards, and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers recognize the seriousness of this and together, have created some of the most rigid laws in the country to combat trafficking, prosecute its perpetrators and assist survivors by connecting them to resources they need to heal and recover,” said First Lady Edwards. “Through the hard work and cooperation of our government agencies and nonprofit partners, our state has emerged as a leader in human trafficking prevention and awareness.”

Under the leadership of the Governor and First Lady Edwards, Louisiana has secured nearly $2.7 million in federal dollars to improve outcomes for child and youth victims of human trafficking. In April, she hosted the National Coalition for the Prevention of Human Sex Trafficking National Awareness Summit. The first spouses of all 50 states were invited to participate, and the advisory committee included those from Texas, Kentucky, Delaware, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

Along with First Lady Edwards, the lineup of distinguished speakers at the “Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Trafficking” symposium include:

• Gretta Goodwin / Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office
• Professor Blanche Cook / Loyola University School of Law, Chicago
• Ana I. Vallejo / Co-director of VIDA Legal Assistance, Inc.
• Beatriz Susana Uitts / Founder and director, Human Trafficking Front
• Katherine Green / Co-founder and Vice President of Eden House
• Amber Cheney / Trafficking survivor
• Christina Young / Trafficking survivor

LSU Law Professors Lisa Avalos and Ray Diamond are the organizers of the “Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Trafficking” symposium.

Professor Avalos' teaching and research interests are in the areas of criminal law and procedure, with an emphasis on sexual offenses and gender-based violence. She also teaches in the area of legal ethics. Professor Avalos's publications have appeared or are forthcoming in the University of Illinois Law Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, Brooklyn Law Review, Nevada Law Journal, Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, the Journal of Gender, Race and Justice, and the Fordham International Law Journal.

Professor Diamond is director of the George W. and Jean H. Pugh Institute for Justice at LSU Law. He taught at LSU Law from 1984 to 1990 and then rejoined the faculty in 2009. In 2012, he was named Vice Chancellor for Faculty Development & Institutional Advancement, and served in the role for five years. Between 1990 and 2009, he taught at Tulane University, where he held the John Koerner Professorship in Law, was previously the C.J. Morrow Research Professor of Law, and was an Adjunct Professor of African Diaspora Studies. Prior to his academic career, Professor Diamond spent three years with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition.

The George W. and Jean H. Pugh Institute for Justice was founded in 1998. It provides support for research and educational activities that promote justice for individuals in the administration of the criminal and civil justice systems in Louisiana and elsewhere. The institute achieves its mission in partnership with Louisiana Law Review, one of three student-edited journals at LSU Law, sponsoring symposia and lectures for the LSU Law community and public that foster publication and electronic distribution of related research.

Symposium Schedule

1:00 – 1:05 p.m. Welcome: Professor Ray Diamond and LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge

1:05 – 1:10 p.m. Introduction of First Lady Donna Edwards by Interim Dean Lockridge

1:10 – 1:30 p.m. Remarks: First Lady Donna Edwards

1:30 – 2:45 p.m. First Panel: Beatriz Susana Uitts and Ana Isabel Vallejo

2:45 – 2:55 p.m. Refreshment break

2:55 – 4:10 p.m. Second Panel: Dr. Gretta Goodwin and Professor Blanche Cook

4:10 – 5:00 p.m. Eden House Panel: Katherine Green, co-founder, and trafficking survivors Amber Cheney and Christina Young

5:00 p.m. Reception and refreshments

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