EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, a full list of resources can be found on our website.
SAN ANTONIO – Survivors, advocates and district attorneys agree: there is a massive backlog of domestic violence cases in Bexar County and across Texas.
There are currently 6,205 backlogged cases in Bexar County, according to the district attorney’s office.
A backlogged case is one in which law enforcement has submitted all of its information, and the district attorney’s office must assess and review the case before sending it to the courts.
Of the cases in backlog, 2,211 are felony charges and 3,994 are misdemeanors.
Attempts have been made to tackle the problem, but with a backlog still in place, survivors are wondering why cases aren’t moving faster.
When Karly Williams reported the abuse she was experiencing in her relationship she got a temporary protective order, but says it took seven months to get a permanent protective order.
“It was extremely frustrating,” Williams said. “Bexar County explained to me after I reported the incident that there was a continuous backlog from COVID which I understand. But it was difficult to even contact anyone at any given time.”
KSAT has reported on the backlog for eight years, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Williams made her report to police about two years ago.
“My ex-partner was just recently indicted, and we have not gone to trial,” Williams said. “I don’t know if we’re going to go to trial.”
How long has the backlog been an issue?
Case backlogs have been a “serious problem” for at least five to 10 years, and have only been getting worse, according to Heather Bellino, the CEO of the Texas Advocacy Project (TAP), which offers free legal services for abuse victims.
“The pandemic did not help, and our economic uncertainty is not making it any easier,” Bellino said.
Bellino has access to a broader base of information regarding the case backlog issues, thanks to TAP’s statewide scope.
“On the criminal side, we’re seeing cases lasting two, three, four years,” Bellino said, “and on the civil side, getting protective orders is getting more and more difficult.”
The Texas Advocacy Project’s attorneys work with district attorneys’ offices across the state, helping fill in resources when available.
“At the district attorney’s office, they’re going to hit a wall of being able to not take any more cases. There’s only a finite amount of people working on this,” Bellino said. “That’s why it’s important for Texas Advocacy Project and other legal services providers to work in conjunction with them to help to try to alleviate some of that pressure.”
However, even TAP is strapped for resources.
“Unfortunately, there’s a finite amount of resources and bandwidth available,” Bellino said. “I mean, we’re three staff attorneys short right now and they are closing nearly 6,000 cases a year.”
Federal and state funding cuts are also impacting TAP’s ability to provide assistance, Bellino said.
Bexar County does not work with TAP or utilize its services, the district’s attorney’s office confirmed.
“In the current administration, we have not partnered or collaborated with them,” the office said in a statement to KSAT. “Not to say we wouldn’t, but the DA’s Office doesn’t have any control over its budget.”
TAP confirmed it does not charge district attorneys’ offices for referral cases.
Bellino believes the answer to the backlog issues, besides funding, is statewide and multi-agency communication.
“It’s important to have open lines of communication where you can say, ‘Hey, we’re at capacity. We’re going to need some help right now,’ and vice versa,” Bellino said.
What’s taking so long in criminal case intake?
KSAT spoke with Meli Powers, the Chief of Bexar County’s Family Violence Division, to understand why it is taking so long to process these cases.
“They take time as we work with law enforcement to get evidence. We don’t always have all the evidence that we need,” Powers said. “That’s just sort of the review intake process, then you have the court process.”
Powers has worked in the district attorney’s office for 20 years, encompassing three administrations, but took over as chief of the Family Violence division in 2019 when Joe Gonzales was elected.
Today, the backlog is at 6,200 cases, including both felonies and misdemeanors.
The office has faced several obstacles, according to Powers, including the pandemic, staffing issues, and changes in its systems. The office has also seen an increase of over 100% in its incoming caseload.
Powers said the biggest problem is staffing, which is directly correlated with funding from the county.
“It would better for victims for us to eliminate some of these obstacles,” Powers said, “and I would say that probably the easiest one to eliminate is the staffing issue.”
The division only has half of the attorneys necessary to represent misdemeanor cases, Powers said, and the number of attorneys representing felonies are dropping as well.
Can anything be done to speed up protective orders?
Bellino said there are lots of steps to obtain a protective order.
“Gathering that evidence, making it so that we can present it, getting on a docket in front of a judge,” Bellino said. “There are only so many judges, there are only so many attorneys.”
“Let’s face it, in this field, funding is getting more and more difficult, so making sure that we’re fully staffed is a priority, but it’s not easy,” Bellino continued. “Even getting the evidence and getting the cooperation from a victim in and of itself has its giant difficulties.”
“You’ve got to be able to lay that case out in a methodical enough way, so that due process is honored,” Bellino said, “and so that when the victim does get the remedy they need, it stands up and withholds in courts.”
Bellino also said the number of people who need protective orders is increasing.
“If one in three Texans are going to be a victim of domestic violence or somebody in their immediate family will, and our population continues to increase, there is going to be a natural flux increase in the amount of people needing to be served,” Bellino said. “We also need to make sure that due process is occurring. That does take time, and everybody deserves that.”
Williams said during her case, she could see the system was overwhelmed in many different areas.
“I felt that the Family Justice Center was very stretched with their resources,” Williams said, “and I know that’s not their fault, but it was very frustrating because it felt like you know, a lot of people were not being paid attention to.”
The Bexar County Family Justice Center told KSAT there is no official “backlog” of protective order cases, but did say they are one of many organizations understaffed.
“One of our greatest challenges in the PO Division is our prosecutor positions being fully staffed,” executive director Crystal Chandler said. “They go above and beyond, often taking intake files home to work on at night when their children go to bed and/or working on weekends to ensure no one falls through the cracks.”
Bellino said a shift in conversation publicly about domestic violence may be encouraging more survivors to come forward.
“People (who) are self-identifying and actively seeking protective orders has increased as society has stopped victim blaming as much,” Bellino said.
Bellino said communication and interaction are key to solving the issue.
“Police, attorneys, judges, shelters; we’ve all got to just be as efficient as possible, optimize all of our operations,” Bellino said. “Come to the community and say, ‘This impacts us all. Can we work together to stop this?’”
Bellino also said stronger laws are needed.
“We’ve worked legislatively throughout many years on making sure that the laws support victims in great ways,” Bellino said. “Where you can file where you live, you can find where the abuse occurred, you try to make it so that there’s more than one avenue to file for that protective order.”
Bellino said the Bexar County’s backlog is similar to other larger counties such as Harris and Travis.
While Bexar County has one of the biggest backlogs in the state, Bellino said she does see innovation here that she doesn’t see elsewhere.
“I know there was funding approved to get more judges and attorneys,” Bellino said, referring to the $3.3 million commissioners approved last year to tackle the backlog.
While the issue persists, survivors remain in danger for longer.
“The fact that you’re bringing something like a protective order to a formal court is not gonna make somebody happy that abused you,” Williams said. “It’s extremely dangerous.”
While steps are necessary now to put a dent in the case backlog, both Bellino and Williams agree the future depends on proactivity and prevention.
“We need to look at this holistically,” Williams said. “If Bexar County wants to get better, it needs to take a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach.
Williams said leaders need to take a proactive, instead of reactive, approach. She hopes conversations and education about domestic violence become more normalized, especially in age-appropriate ways with children.
Advice from a survivor, for survivors
Despite some of the difficulties in the legal system, Williams is passionate about advising survivors to report the abuse they experience when it’s safe to do so.
“I felt that I had reported it and that had created somewhat of a boundary,” Williams said. “Even if they don’t want to prosecute, you can sign a non-prosecution affidavit, but to report it creates a boundary and it also creates a paper trail. So if they do re-offend, there’s going to be at least some document in public record that other people can look up.”
She said her partner he had a previous protective order filed against him.
“People need to be held accountable, whether it’s a paper trail, whether it is a court case, those records are public record and they’re a part of community knowledge.”
She said even though her process took longer than she believes necessary, she said the system is filled with many people who care.
“Even if you don’t trust the system, there are good people in the system,” Williams said. “There are amazing advocates, amazing attorneys, who have dedicated their whole careers to advocate for people like us.”
In her mission to educate the public about domestic violence, Williams consistently tells people what they can say if someone makes an outcry.
“If you or someone you know is being harmed and they need help, I would say your response to somebody who feels they’re being victimized is, ‘I see you, I believe you. And when you are ready, because this is about getting your power and control back, I have a resource available to you, like Texas Advocacy Project, like the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, like the shelters in the area. We will work together because you deserve to be safe,” Williams said.
She said pressuring people to leave before they’re ready puts them in extreme danger, since leaving an abusive relationship often is when the violence escalates the most.
Resources
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is help. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse. On the resource page is a section on legal help available.
If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. For wrap-around services including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 733-8810.
You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at (210) 631-0100.
The Texas Advocacy Project that offers free legal help can be contacted at Legal Line is 800-374-HOPE.