Jennie Roberts

I'm a victim witness coordinator for a county prosecutor's office, a role I started in June of last year. Years ago, I found myself needing a victim advocate during a difficult time in my life, and that experience changed everything for me. After my divorce, I went back to school for psychology with a minor in Justice Studies because I decided that somebody helped me, and I wanted to help other people. On a typical day, I come in for bond review hearings and type up no contact orders if there's domestic violence charges. On Mondays, I sit in court on docket days, take notes on what's happening, and then throughout the week I call victims and update them on the cases that they are victims of. I help people file for restitution and send out subpoenas. What I love most is when people say thank you for listening to them and for believing them. I recently helped a lady who was really depressed and not knowing how to get out of her situation - I helped her find an attorney that could help her keep her house when her husband was trying to keep her out. I just got accepted to law school, and my vision is to help write laws for legislature that give more protection and more legal opportunities to victims of domestic violence. One of the biggest things I would like to change is that children don't get a voice in the divorce process, and they're forced to have visitation with their abuser. I would love to be part of writing legislation that requires that the state provide a guardian ad litem for children who are in the middle of what they call contentious divorces.