In 2019, Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) Staff Attorney, Cheranda Robertson represented Samantha, a survivor of severe domestic violence and continual sexual assault from her husband Josh. When Robertson entered the case, the trial was in about a month and mediation resulted in a dead end. The property they shared consisted of three real estate properties, four vehicles, and personal effects.
The couple came to California from Mexico in the 1980’s. They moved to Texas in the late 1990’s and had four children over the years. Shortly after moving to Texas, they bought their first property, then they formally married in 2001. Around 2006, they purchased their second Texas property.
The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure allow for discovery to be conducted. Discovery is in the form of legal documents that ask questions of the opposing party; questions that the asking party believes would lead to admissible evidence that supports their case. The discovery done by Samantha’s former attorney was incomplete. The most important thing Robertson found out was that the deed for the first Texas property, listed Samantha’s birth name and referred to her as an unmarried woman.
At trial, Samantha testified to the domestic abuse that Josh had inflicted upon her over the years. She testified about how she did not know how to swim, yet he had pushed her into a pool in front of her young children, allowed her to sink to the bottom, and did not pull her out until she had nearly drowned. She testified about how he had punched her in the stomach while pregnant and fractured the baby’s skull, resulting in a complicated delivery, an extensive NICU stay, and permanent damage to their son. She testified about how he would always come home in the middle of the night, wake her up at 2 or 3 AM and force her to cook him food, chronically sleep depriving her. She testified to years and years of endless, violent, and gruesome sexual violence, sending her into surgery for injuries, and about how he had many extramarital affairs. Samantha testified that Josh would always introduce her as “his sister,” which goes against the statutory requirements of “representing to others” that they were married as well. The judge heard it all.
Samantha testified about how she paid the down payment on the first Texas home with her own savings that she had earned from cleaning homes and ironing clothes. Opposing counsel tried to argue reimbursement, but Robertson pointed out that Josh had never pled for reimbursement, and they certainly had not included any evidence of it.
During cross-examination, the opposing counsel was awful to Samantha. Their questions consisted of things like “If he was so abusive, why did you marry him in 2001? It is not like he ever hit you hard enough to land you in the hospital, right? Why didn’t you call the police more? Why didn’t you tell your doctor that the baby’s skull fracture was a result of his punching you?”
Samantha and Robertson were overjoyed when the court ordered a finding of family violence and that Samantha be awarded the 1st property as her separate property, 100% of the marital residence, the two newest vehicles, all personal property in the two homes awarded, and a permanent protective order against Josh for her peace and safety.
Robertson immediately called Samantha after the trial in which Samantha was sobbing tears of joy and relief. Robertson was in tears herself. “My client had been so brave to testify to everything. It was the first time she had ever told her story to anyone except her therapist and me. It was so liberating for her to proclaim her truth – in front of Josh – and to work as hard as she did to get what she deserves,” Robertson said.
“Justice is an ethereal concept. True justice would be for our JCS clients to have never had to endure what they endured. There is no court order that can ever undo what has been done or make things completely right. No amount of property award can ever heal the pain they have encountered. But when they get to bravely stand up for themselves and tell their stories, that is the beginning of a long road to healing for them. Additionally, property awards and financial compensation do go a long way toward giving them that extra boost they need when starting an independent lifestyle apart from their abuser,” Robertson said.
In Samantha’s case, this victory was so much more than a financial award. It meant that she will not be left financially destitute and unable to provide for herself as she quickly approaches retirement age. She is financially secure, and she is finally free.
“I will always fondly remember this case as my greatest victory in my career thus far, and I will always remember this client as my very favorite I have ever had. She was just the most amazing, brave survivor I have encountered. This just added to the pleasure of representing her and fighting for her. What a win for LSLA and for her! I love what we do,” Robertson said.
*Names were changed to protect the identity of the client.
