Calinfornia anti-trafficking law hits snags

Today’s LA Times has a story by Garrett Therolf discussing the unexpected difficulties that have snagged California’s anti-trafficking law. He writes:

“11 months since the law went into effect, not a single human trafficking case has been prosecuted, according to the law’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D-Mountain View). Police complain the law makes it too difficult to prove that human trafficking has taken place.

The problem is that seldom is the evidence black and white. Were the workers being kept against their will, or were they enduring their hardships willingly as a step up the economic pecking order?

Another problem is persuading people to tell their stories of involuntary servitude.”

As I noted in my article in the Fordham Law Journal in May, similar troubles have plagued the implementation of the federal antitrafficking laws.

The link to the full LA Times story is here:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-trafficking25nov25,1,3428775.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

-jmc