Law, College of
Nebraska Law Bulletin (Selected Issues)
A Second Chance at the Good Life: Vacatur for Human Trafficking Survivors in Nebraska
Date of this Version
7-8-2024
Document Type
Article
Citation
Nebraska Law Bulletin, July 8, 2024
Abstract
The tragedy of being trafficked, survival, and survivor recovery are all complex experiences that leave trafficking survivors like Macy with an array of needs and challenges. One immense challenge during recovery is the ability to maintain stability through employment, housing, and other necessities. Survivors throughout the country struggle to attain these necessities due to the looming presence of their criminal records. While no legal remedy can completely correct the injustice of human trafficking, providing survivors with relief from their criminal record restores one fragment of justice that will greatly benefit survivors in recovery. While there are other forms of criminal record relief, vacatur remains the most effective option to completely exonerate survivors—as it accounts for the unique needs and experiences of trafficking survivors as well as their reasons for seeking vacatur. By its very essence, vacatur acknowledges that trafficking victims should never have been convicted in the first place for crimes committed against them and crimes they were forced to commit.
The current lack of federal vacatur law leaves survivors without relief from federal crimes and state legislatures without a blueprint after to which to model state vacatur statues. This shortcoming is reflection of the government’s high prioritization of prosecution and acute neglect of survivor restoration efforts. Fortunately, several state legislatures have made strides in recent years to offer specialized vacatur for trafficking survivors. In a national analysis, Polaris deemed Nebraska’s vacatur statute to be a leading example for other states. Nevertheless, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-3005 still needs to be reformed to include three vital components: a confidentiality provision, the preponderance of evidence standard of proof, and the inclusion of labor trafficking survivors. With these changes, recovering human trafficking survivors in Nebraska will have the best possible second chance at “The Good Life.”