One of the first logistics questions, after children and mothers were removed was where to house them. They were sent first to Fort Concho, a former Army base in San Angelo. Then they were sent to the San Angelo Coliseum. Others were housed in shelters and, in many cases, siblings were separated in foster care.

For lawyers and the court, simply holding hearings proved overwhelming.

“When it became apparent we would need about 400 attorneys ad litem, I don’t think anybody could get their arms around what that really meant,” said Guy Choate, a past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Choate served as a media representative for the hearings.

Photo of Guy Choate by Dennis Murphy.