At his own expense, Assistant Nevada County D-A Jim Phillips recently attended a human trafficking conference in Hawaii. It was sponsored by the Honolulu District Attorney’s Office, along with the National District Attorney’s Association. Phillips wife was there for training, as an advocate with the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition in Grass Valley, which does work with victims. Phillips says the main concern here is the growing number of slave laborers found at illegal marijuana gardens. That includes about a month ago….

click to listen to Jim Phillips

Phillips says it’s also a significant concern in other north state counties, including Butte, Shasta, Trinity, Mendocino and Humboldt counties. And he doesn’t think legalizing recreational marijuana will make much difference regarding the issue…

click to listen to Jim Phillips

District Attorneys from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles were also on hand, discussing prosecution strategies. Phillips says Nevada County has not prosecuted a human trafficking case so far. Representatives from Asian nations, including China, Japan, Taiwan, and the Phillipines were also at the conference, urging a more effective crackdown on importing slave laborers from their countries into the United States.