BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Domestic violence survivors across Bexar County are concerned about how long some criminal cases are taking, with some waiting years.
KSAT’s Courtney Friedman has spent years checking in on the domestic violence case backlog, and last week addressed the overall current situation, as well as zooming in on issues at the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.
Now, attention turns to felony court numbers.
Criminal domestic violence cases go through a complicated process, moving from law enforcement to the district attorney’s office, and finally to the courts.
Once a person is indicted in a felony court, the case is assigned to a judge, such as 379th Criminal District Court Judge Ron Rangel.
Felony and misdemeanor family violence cases are handled differently, but they each have their separate backlog problems.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge obstacle, temporarily shutting down the court system.
“Because you can only try one trial a week with 30 new cases coming in weekly, there’s only so much that a court can do,” Rangel said.
However, Rangel said it finally seems to be getting better.
In the 10 felony courts combined, the total family violence case backlog numbers are:
- 2024: 1,162
- 2025: 849
That’s approximately a 27% decrease in a year.
Court administrators also provided a breakdown of cases pending more than one, two, and three years since indictment:
More than one year since indictment:
- 2024: 184
- 2025: 174
More than two years since indictment:
- 2024: 104
- 2025: 52
More than three years since indictment:
- 2024: 62
- 2025: 33
While the numbers are dropping, Rangel acknowledged that any backlog is delaying justice and safety for survivors.
“It’s one thing to say the system is improving. It’s one thing to the say the numbers are coming down, but that doesn’t make a difference to that one person who’s a victim of domestic violence,” Rangel said.
He, like many others in different parts of the system, said it’s all about resources.
Rangel cited a statewide study by the Office of Court Administration about caseloads like this.
“This answer was about a year ago, telling us in Bexar County that we are lacking 2.7 judges to maintain the current caseload among district courts,” Rangel said. “County courts are lacking three judges. So that’s really six judges total.”
Rangel said the county has actually been receptive to that.
“They’ve advised us that they’re willing to pay for courts, new courts to come online,” he said. “The issue is there’s no space. We have no place to put these judges, but we are lacking courts within the system.”
When asked if there’s any remedy in the works, Rangel said, “There’s lot of conversations that I’ve had with the county officials related to spacing needs. There’s talks that we’ve had on moving the jury room downstairs and put in some more courts there. There is courtroom space in these courthouses. The county just needs to do it.”
While Rangel said he understands the budget constraints of local governments, he said public safety should come first.
“It could be more efficient,” he said. “There’s some structural reform I think that needs to be done, which can’t exist without some sort of financing.”
Besides funding, he said, the other necessity is communication throughout the complicated process.
“It’s always been my vision that we all work together. We don’t want the different parts of the system to be siloed,” Rangel said.
The county confirmed to KSAT that there have been discussions about the need for additional courtroom space, but there are no specific details or plans laid out yet.
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.
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