After surviving 15 years of spousal abuse, Monique Green took an important step for herself and her children — she hired an attorney and sought an order of protection from her husband. But her case was never heard. Instead, her attorney allowed the application for the order to expire.
“When I would reach out to the attorney and say, ‘There's a violation going on here,’ the response was, ‘Well, you need to do this on your own.’ And I'm thinking, ‘I'm paying you for this particular service,’” Green said. “Without my family support, I don't know that I would have been able to walk through the process.”
Many domestic violence victims have trouble navigating the legal system. In St. Louis County, 79% of the requests for orders of protection were dismissed between 2020 and 2023.
Mike Burton knows the real-life implications of these statistics, which he received from the St. Louis County Circuit Court clerk. As a retired St. Louis County Circuit judge, he oversaw numerous domestic violence cases. In doing so, he became aware of the flaws in the system that allow abusers to escape accountability — and that led victims to give up on the process.
“No victim should ever walk into a courtroom by themselves,” he said.
Burton founded the nonprofit St. Louis Survivors Legal Support to give victims of domestic violence free legal representation. The program aims to help victims succeed in their legal efforts, including applications for protective orders.
The pro bono aspect of their work is important, Burton added, because while domestic abuse occurs at all economic levels, women experiencing poverty are seven times as likely to be victims of domestic violence. In St. Louis and St. Louis County, only 10% of people seeking orders of protection have lawyers.
As Burton prepared to launch his nonprofit, he had many conversations with Green about her experience. Despite being a career businesswoman, with experience as a CEO and employee at several Fortune 500 companies, Green struggled to get what she needed from the court system.
“She was a person of resources, and she still went through some real challenges,” Burton said. “The challenges are even greater for people that don't have resources. Oftentimes, people don't have any place to go but right back to their offender.”
Since St. Louis Survivors Legal Support began taking clients in April 2023, their volunteer attorneys have represented more than 200 clients on their cases.
During Burton’s time as a judge, he noticed that most victims did not return to court to complete their hearings. To date, nearly all of the clients represented by St. Louis Survivors Legal Support have returned to court for their orders of protection and other companion orders.
“I'm proud to see the incredible things that are happening with the victims that are here in our community,” he said.
Mike Burton and Monique Green joined St. Louis on the Air to discuss the challenges domestic violence victims face in the legal system and the mission of St. Louis Survivors Legal Support. Hear the conversation on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
