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Does the Victoria County justice system have you down?
By GabeSemenza in Crowdsourcing
February 13, 2008

I'm working on a story about the state of the justice system following mediation between our district attorney and law enforcement leaders.

Since that mediation, more than 350 backlogged cases were taken by law enforcement to DA Steve Tyler's office.

Before the mediation, a nearly three-month standstill forced those cases to remain un-reviewed, un-prosecuted and in boxes at the VPD and VCSO.

To attain a firsthand glimpse of the justice system now that cases are flowing again, I sat for bits of a driving while intoxicated trial on Tuesday, a case that made it into the system as scheduled.

But at the judge's bench, some of those backlogged cases were awaiting the trial's end.

By many accounts, the system isn't bogged down from a rush of once backlogged cases, although some courts are experiencing more hectic days than usual.

Did the standstill impact you? Were you a victim in a case that should have made it to court in October, November, December or January? Do you have any stories to share?

Gabe Semenza/Advocate journalist

If you don't feel comfortable sharing in this blog, reach me at gsemenza@vicad.com or 361-580-6519.