Erin Martinson
Director of Special Victims Division

Erin Martinson, the Director of the Special Victims Division, graduated from UT School of Law in May 1999 and began working for the Women’s Advocacy Project, where she assisted victims of domestic violence in various capacities, including answering a legal hotline, advocating for victims requesting emergency protective orders in municipal court and providing legal representation in criminal cases where victims were arrested for crimes related to their victimization.

In 2004, Erin began working in the Travis County Attorney’s Office protective order division and was promoted to Chief in 2005. In that capacity, Erin represented victims of family violence, sexual assault, and stalking in protective order hearings; traveled across the state training prosecutors, advocates, law enforcement, and Judges; and participated in several collaborative efforts to improve the community’s response to domestic violence and sexual assault.

In July 2016, Erin was hired as the Managing Attorney for the Crime Victims program at Texas Legal Services Center. While there, Erin supervised a staff of 10 attorneys operating a legal hotline for sexual assault survivors and representing victims of crime in protective orders, family law cases, crime victims’ rights, immigration matters, housing, crime victims’ compensation, and Title IX complaints across the state.

In 2019, Erin left TLSC to run for Travis County District Attorney. While running, Erin and her opponent, José Garza, learned they shared a vision for a more just and equitable criminal legal system. In December 2020, after José was elected as the Travis County District Attorney, Erin was hired as Director of the Special Victims Division. Erin currently sits on the steering committee of the Austin/Travis County Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team, has been a faculty member of the Institute on Domestic and Sexual Violence’s Expert Witness training, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law as well as a former Board Member of the Battered Women’s Justice Project.