Anna Reimers

The Project

Anna (she/her) will work with the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Domestic Violence and Family Law team to increase access to legal aid for survivors of crime by providing holistic, survivor-centered legal services. 

Though Texas law provides that survivors have rights during the investigation and prosecution processes, most survivors are unaware of these rights, causing many rights to go unenforced as a result. A 2019 study by the Alliance for Safety and Justice found that six in 10 violent crime victims were unaware that Texas offers crime victims compensation and that only one in 10 received it. The same survey also found that nearly half of survivors felt “not at all supported” or only slightly supported by the criminal justice system. There is also an increasing need for representation in civil suits filed against survivors for speaking out about the abuse they experienced. Legal representation in civil suits is critical to ensuring victim rights and free speech are protected. 

 Fellowship Plans

During her Fellowship, Anna will increase survivors’ knowledge of the criminal justice process and their rights. She will provide legal services to victims, focusing on obtaining protective orders, custody, and divorce while also helping victims of domestic violence in civil cases where the perpetrator has filed a defamation case against them. Finally, she will work with the local domestic violence shelter and other community partners to provide outreach and training on crime victims’ rights. 

As a child of divorce, Anna’s firsthand experience of how difficult it can be to navigate the family court system guided her into choosing Family Law. However, after several internships she discovered there was a vulnerable population who often went underrepresented and were victimized even more through the legal system. Identifying that population prompted her to work for victims of domestic violence in order to prevent them from being victimized again. Anna’s Equal Justice Works Fellowship allows her to play a crucial role in helping affected people leave dangerous situations. Clients are often times starting their lives over, which can be a very difficult process. Anna’s goal is to empower and guide clients through the legal process so they have one less thing to worry about as they navigate the challenges that their experience with crime has left them with.