http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601 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. 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. en-us Gabe....just a comment or two.  If you begin receiving complaints from individuals about their cases being delayed because of the standoff, please make sure you verify that ALL of the delay was due to the standoff and not defense motions and defense tactics.  There is no doubt that there were delays, but I also know that some cases were also delayed because of defense lawyers filing their usual motions and briefs.  Also, you may want to delve into the cooperation (or lack thereof) between the other LE agencies and the DA's office since the mediation.  Specifically, the lack of cooperation with the task force on enforcement of carnival safety and enforcement of  the laws prohibiting the 8-liners.  Both of these were DA initiatives, and the other agencies seemed aloof or even critical of the efforts.  Thanks! http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37402 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37402 Gabe....just a comment or two.  If you begin receiving complaints from individuals about their cases being delayed because of the standoff, please make sure you verify that ALL of the delay was due to the standoff and not defense motions and defense tactics.  There is no doubt that there were delays, but I also know that some cases were also delayed because of defense lawyers filing their usual motions and briefs.  Also, you may want to delve into the cooperation (or lack thereof) between the other LE agencies and the DA's office since the mediation.  Specifically, the lack of cooperation with the task force on enforcement of carnival safety and enforcement of  the laws prohibiting the 8-liners.  Both of these were DA initiatives, and the other agencies seemed aloof or even critical of the efforts.  Thanks! Gabe.... thank you for this hopeful article.  You might want to check into how many of the cases delayed were crimes with VICTIMS.     I'd be more interested in seeing just how many sex crime VICTIMS haven't been duly represented by our District Attorney.  I'd like to see how many actual victim crime cases were taken forward by our current DA ..  I'd love to hear how the VICTIMS felt after talking with the current DA and how their cases will be handled.  I'd love to hear how the communication between the VICTIMS and the DA is going.  I saw the logs of the 320+ cases where the "DA refused to review" and I know there were a ton of actual crimes against people - assault with bodily harm, sex assault cases, child molestation cases and such.  I wonder where those stand now (the names and birthdates were blacked out) . I also am curious about how the District Attorney feels about helping VICTIMS.  Does he prefer to plea bargain with the criminal or does he like to go to trial?  What evidence does the DA use in his prosecution?   How does a VICTIM get their case accepted?  What other agencies are involved or help VICTIMS of sex crimes?  I'd like to see an article about how a VICTIM gets walked through the system from when they first report it to the end where they go to trial (if needed). And while you are at it, can you please find out what exactly our District Attorney's job descriptions are?    Of course I know this last answer  but I thought the readers might be interested. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37426 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37426 Gabe.... thank you for this hopeful article.  You might want to check into how many of the cases delayed were crimes with VICTIMS.     I'd be more interested in seeing just how many sex crime VICTIMS haven't been duly represented by our District Attorney.  I'd like to see how many actual victim crime cases were taken forward by our current DA ..  I'd love to hear how the VICTIMS felt after talking with the current DA and how their cases will be handled.  I'd love to hear how the communication between the VICTIMS and the DA is going.  I saw the logs of the 320+ cases where the "DA refused to review" and I know there were a ton of actual crimes against people - assault with bodily harm, sex assault cases, child molestation cases and such.  I wonder where those stand now (the names and birthdates were blacked out) . I also am curious about how the District Attorney feels about helping VICTIMS.  Does he prefer to plea bargain with the criminal or does he like to go to trial?  What evidence does the DA use in his prosecution?   How does a VICTIM get their case accepted?  What other agencies are involved or help VICTIMS of sex crimes?  I'd like to see an article about how a VICTIM gets walked through the system from when they first report it to the end where they go to trial (if needed). And while you are at it, can you please find out what exactly our District Attorney's job descriptions are?    Of course I know this last answer  but I thought the readers might be interested. Thanks for the comments. Some of the good questions you ask may not be answered in time for the publication of this story, but I'm saving them nonetheless. If you know of anyone whose case is being tried now -- whether that person be the accused or a victim -- point them my way, if they're interested. I really want to talk to "real" people for this story, and not just the figureheads. Again, I appreciate your questions here. And, again, if they are not answered in this story that doesn't mean I'm not looking into them for you -- just that some may not fit the scope and timeframe for this deadline. Gabe Semenza/Advocate journalist gsemenza@vicad.com or 361-580-6519 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37430 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37430 Thanks for the comments. Some of the good questions you ask may not be answered in time for the publication of this story, but I'm saving them nonetheless. If you know of anyone whose case is being tried now -- whether that person be the accused or a victim -- point them my way, if they're interested. I really want to talk to "real" people for this story, and not just the figureheads. Again, I appreciate your questions here. And, again, if they are not answered in this story that doesn't mean I'm not looking into them for you -- just that some may not fit the scope and timeframe for this deadline. Gabe Semenza/Advocate journalist gsemenza@vicad.com or 361-580-6519 Hmmm...don't all crimes that the DA would be prosecuting have a victim?  It is a good idea to talk with the victims....it's too bad many of these victims are children, though, and their identities are protected, as they should be.   I would imagine, though, that if you were able to talk with the children and their guardians whose case was heard this week (resulting in a guilty verdict and four life terms) I think you would find they were satisfied with the way they were treated, the judicial process, and the outcome.  That's all I will post on the topic, I promise....I know this is not a discussion forum. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37435 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37435 Hmmm...don't all crimes that the DA would be prosecuting have a victim?  It is a good idea to talk with the victims....it's too bad many of these victims are children, though, and their identities are protected, as they should be.   I would imagine, though, that if you were able to talk with the children and their guardians whose case was heard this week (resulting in a guilty verdict and four life terms) I think you would find they were satisfied with the way they were treated, the judicial process, and the outcome.  That's all I will post on the topic, I promise....I know this is not a discussion forum. Here is one of those questions answered. This is from an e-mail sent to me by a VPD captain: "We had approximately 54 assaultive type cases. This includes family violence, aggravated assaults, and robbery. We did not have any sex crimes as these are crimes that are rarely sight arrests and usually requires several weeks of Investigations. " http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37511 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37511 Here is one of those questions answered. This is from an e-mail sent to me by a VPD captain: "We had approximately 54 assaultive type cases. This includes family violence, aggravated assaults, and robbery. We did not have any sex crimes as these are crimes that are rarely sight arrests and usually requires several weeks of Investigations. " Gabe, I'd like clarification of VPD Captain's statement:  "We did not have any sex crimes as these are crimes that are rarely sight arrests and usually requires several weeks of Investigations."      Can you get a better explanation from VPD Captain?  Did he mean that:   (1.)  no Sex Crimes were reported from October through January? Or   (2.)  no Sex Crimes were scheduled for trial prior to the shutdown of the judicial system from October to January? Or   (3.)  no Sex Crimes were presented to the DA for review because they were still being investigated during the period of   October through January? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37546 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37546 Gabe, I'd like clarification of VPD Captain's statement:  "We did not have any sex crimes as these are crimes that are rarely sight arrests and usually requires several weeks of Investigations."      Can you get a better explanation from VPD Captain?  Did he mean that:   (1.)  no Sex Crimes were reported from October through January? Or   (2.)  no Sex Crimes were scheduled for trial prior to the shutdown of the judicial system from October to January? Or   (3.)  no Sex Crimes were presented to the DA for review because they were still being investigated during the period of   October through January? Okay, I think I understand (even thought it is not clear in the quote from VPD that you included)-- Regarding the cases that they attempted to present to the District Attorney between mid-October and the resolution in January, they (VPD) did not include any cases involving sex crimes.  It's not that they were not occuring, they were just not being presented.  Perhaps they are still under investigation, or have been closed as unfounded or such? I do know there were approximately 20 victims during that time period presenting at the hospitals for sexual assault exams, so the assaults were happening. If you disagree with this, let me know. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37813 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37813 Okay, I think I understand (even thought it is not clear in the quote from VPD that you included)-- Regarding the cases that they attempted to present to the District Attorney between mid-October and the resolution in January, they (VPD) did not include any cases involving sex crimes.  It's not that they were not occuring, they were just not being presented.  Perhaps they are still under investigation, or have been closed as unfounded or such? I do know there were approximately 20 victims during that time period presenting at the hospitals for sexual assault exams, so the assaults were happening. If you disagree with this, let me know. I have a question for you: How are the "most clicked" and "most commented" articles run? I notice that certain stories will stay on the leaderboard for a while - while other stories tend to magically disappear at odd times. I don't want to make accusations or assumptions, but I have been keeping an informal record and I don't understand why some stories will stay on that leaderboard longer than others. I guess the more direct question is: Is someone taking the stories they don't want up there anymore off of the leaderboard? I would like to think not, but like I said, I have been keeping record or certain political stories. When the click count and comments favor or lean towards a certain candidate - the article stays much longer than if it leans the other way. Is there a person who decides what gets moved? If it is a computer that decides this - then it has program flaws. If it is a person - they have some flaws of their own. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37935 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/GabeSemenza/6601/#c_37935 I have a question for you: How are the "most clicked" and "most commented" articles run? I notice that certain stories will stay on the leaderboard for a while - while other stories tend to magically disappear at odd times. I don't want to make accusations or assumptions, but I have been keeping an informal record and I don't understand why some stories will stay on that leaderboard longer than others. I guess the more direct question is: Is someone taking the stories they don't want up there anymore off of the leaderboard? I would like to think not, but like I said, I have been keeping record or certain political stories. When the click count and comments favor or lean towards a certain candidate - the article stays much longer than if it leans the other way. Is there a person who decides what gets moved? If it is a computer that decides this - then it has program flaws. If it is a person - they have some flaws of their own.