U.S. v. Veerapol: 9th Circuit Affirms Involuntary Servitude Conviction

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Obtaining Lawful Permanent Residence Status

U.S. V. VEERAPOL: 9TH CIRCUIT AFFIRMS INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE CONVICTION
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 1, February 21, 2003

In an important case with implications for trafficking victims, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an involuntary servitude conviction against a Thai restaurant operator who recruited Thai nationals to work at her restaurant. Although the case arises in the criminal context, the ruling is helpful to future applications of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), because it sheds light on the definition of "involuntary servitude." In order to be eligible for protection under the TVPA, an individual must show that he or she was a victim of severe trafficking. The definition of the term "severe trafficking" includes situations in which individuals are trafficked through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, in order to be subjected to involuntary servitude.

The case involved Supawan Veerapol, a Thai woman who recruited Nobi Saeieo, a non-English-speaking Thai villager with a second grade education. Veerapol offered Saeieo transportation to and employment in the United States and later made travel arrangements and set up accommodations for her in her home.

While in the U.S., Saeieo was forced by Veerapol to work excessive hours not only at the restaurant but also at Veerapol's home. Saeieo was required to wash Veerapol's car, cook, provide manicures and pedicures, clean the restaurant owner's nine-year-old boy after he went to the bathroom, and serve Veerapol's houseguests on one knee.

During the time Saeieo worked for her, Veerapol maintained Saeieo in virtual isolation. She forbade her from reading Thai newspapers, going to stores, speaking with houseguests or restaurant customers, or using the telephone or mail. She also maintained control over her through verbal abuse, threats of legal action, and physical force. Veerapol refused to allow Saeieo to return home to Thailand and once warned her she would kill her if she left. She also told Saeieo that if she requested help, the police in the U.S. would arrest her as an illegal alien. Eventually, Saeieo's sister contacted the Thai Foreign Ministry and Saeieo was allowed to return home.

Charges of compelling involuntary servitude were eventually brought against Veerapol, and the district court found her guilty. Veerapol appealed to the Ninth Circuit and challenged the sufficiency of the evidence of involuntary servitude. In affirming the conviction, the court looked to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Kozminski, 487 U.S. 931 (1988). The Kozminski court held that an involuntary servitude conviction requires a showing that the defendant compelled the victim to work by the use or threat of physical restraint or injury, or coercion through law or the legal process. Once that requirement is met, the jury determines whether the physical or legal coercion or threats could plausibly have compelled the victim to serve. In making this determination, the jury could also consider other evidence of coercion, poor working conditions, or the victim's special vulnerabilities.

The Ninth Circuit underscored the Supreme Court's statement that "threatening . . . an immigrant with deportation could constitute the threat of legal coercion that induces involuntary servitude, even though such a threat made to an adult citizen of normal intelligence would be too implausible to produce involuntary servitude." Accordingly, based on the facts presented, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling. The Ninth Circuit also affirmed the district court's decision to augment Veerapol's sentence under the vulnerable victim enhancement statute, as well as the order of restitution to the victim.

United States v. Veerapol, 312 F.3d 1128 (9th Cir. 2002).