How often do I need to come to court once a case is filed?

A victim is only required to appear in court if the State of Texas needs them to testify at a hearing or at trial to prove its case. A victim’s attendance at other court dates is optional. In most cases, a regular docket setting is rather uneventful. Oftentimes, the prosecutor and the defense attorney have out-of-court discussions while they attempt to resolve the case and the court settings are more administrative than substantive. This does not mean that nothing is happening with the case, but rather that both sides are waiting on information from one another or attempting to gather additional facts for their position to ultimately help resolve the case. In cases involving lab results, such as cases that require DNA or drug testing, court settings will continue to be reset until the results are returned. This can often take several months. Feel free to contact your assigned victim counselor if you are curious whether it would be necessary or informative for you to attend an upcoming court setting.