On October 8 and 9, 2015, teams from around the country came together in New York City for the National Summit on Human Trafficking and the State Courts hosted by then-Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, with key support from SJI (SJI-15-P-029).

The teams were made up of chief justices, court administrators, prosecutors, defense attorneys, advocates, and others with an interest or involvement in efforts to address human trafficking at the state level.  There were teams from 46 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories in attendance.

The summit included panel discussions on Day 1 focusing on a variety of subjects related to the work of the state courts, along with their justice system and community partners, in responding to trafficking cases and victims.  On Day 2, state teams began developing action plans.  The plans incorporated the information and approaches presented on Day 1.

In order to make the expertise and knowledge shared at the Summit more widely available, video of the panel discussions is now available on the Summit website. Panel Videos from the National Summit included a range of topics discussed by experts in the field, including:

• Human Trafficking from a Judicial Perspective
• Labor Trafficking and Promising Programs
• Working Together -Reaching Out to Our Justice Partners
• Innovative Strategies to Address HT by Courts and Communities
• State Courts Taking Action

The Human Trafficking and the States Courts Collaborative, played a major role in the National Summit, along with the New York Unified Court System. SJI began focusing on human trafficking and the state courts over three years ago by supporting the HT Collaborative and their work. This National Summit was a culmination of several years of work on this critical issue. Post-Summit, the HT Collaborative continues to provide technical assistance and training to the state courts on human trafficking.