A San Antonio town hall put a spotlight on what happens after a domestic violence victim asks for help — and how often the systems meant to protect them fail to talk to each other. State Sen. Jose Menéndez hosted the gathering to examine where protective orders, prosecutions and inter-agency communication are falling short.
Menéndez said domestic violence has reached what he called an “epidemic level” in Bexar County, according to KSAT. The town hall focused on gaps in the response to domestic violence.
San Antonio family law attorney Deanna Whitley laid out the core problem facing many victims: a single person can be moving through a criminal case and a civil protective order case at the very same time, but the two tracks rarely sync up. “They operate separately. They don’t coordinate,” Whitley said, per the station's report. She said that disconnect can create dangerous gaps when information surfacing in one case never makes it to the other.
Separate Criminal and Civil Cases
Whitley's comments underscored the disconnect between criminal and civil cases, which can proceed separately.
Menéndez said he plans to examine how domestic violence cases are investigated and prosecuted, and how the various pieces of the justice system communicate with one another.
Dismissal Rates Climbing in Misdemeanor Courts
The town hall's concerns echo a broader pattern documented in Bexar County's misdemeanor courts. A separate KSAT analysis of court data found that nearly 90% of Bexar County misdemeanor domestic violence cases were dismissed in 2026.
The Bexar County District Attorney's Office disputed aspects of that analysis, saying some categories KSAT counted as dismissals should not have been classified that way, but the office did not provide alternative figures to support its position, the outlet reported. The DA's Family Violence Division, which handles both felony and misdemeanor domestic violence prosecutions, is staffed with 57 assistant district attorneys, 14 victim advocates, seven crime victim liaisons and 15 criminal investigators, according to Bexar County. The office created a Family Violence Intake Section in 2019 specifically to evaluate felony family violence cases more promptly.
Protective Orders
Magistrates issued 2,267 emergency protection orders across San Antonio and Bexar County in 2024, while a separate 1,568 protective-order applications were filed in civil court that same year, according to Texas Public Radio. Statewide, family violence incidents have risen 32% since 2013, per the Texas Advocacy Project.
Protective Orders Under Scrutiny
Menéndez argued at the town hall that Texas's protective-order system needs to be reevaluated, saying current orders are not working as intended.
Separately, a study of more than 6,600 extreme-risk protection order petitions across six states found that 77% of final hearings resulted in the order being extended, often for a full year, according to the RAND Corporation.
Whether the concerns raised at the town hall will lead to action in Austin remains to be seen.
