Texas Rethinks Jailing Crime Victims to Secure Testimony

Legal experts said authorities rarely use jail as a way of forcing witnesses to testify, though the approach can vary by jurisdiction and has drawn controversy in a handful of other states as well.

Last August, the Florida Supreme Court reprimanded Seminole County Court Judge Jerri Collins after she scolded a domestic-violence victim for failing to testify against her abuser and sentenced the victim to three days in jail. Judge Collins apologized and was ordered to take a domestic violence and anger management class, according to court filings.

“If someone is so afraid that they won’t come to court, the last thing you want to do is to arrest that person,” said Jennifer Long, a former Philadelphia prosecutor who heads the group AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women.