New bill requires Texas judges to take domestic violence case training
ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) – Texas judges will soon be taking new training to equip them to deal with domestic violence cases.
SB 855 will require all state judges to take additional training on topics like human trafficking, child abuse, and available state resources for victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse.
District, appellate, and county court judges will be required to take an hour of training on the topics within a year of taking office.
For judges primarily involved with family law, the bill would require them to take two hours of family violence training every two years.
Before the bill, if cases did not involve domestic violence matters, judges could be exempt from training.
Angelina County district judge Todd Kassaw said the new requirements will benefit everyone involved.
“Even now, there are still things that I’m doing for the first time and so this type of training is very important for somebody like me who’s just becoming a judge, and to be educated and knowledgeable about this sort of conduct and how to recognize it and also how to deal with it,” said Kassaw.
The bill goes into effect Sept. 1.
