Authorities Strengthen the Medical Institute in Badajoz After Judge's Complaint. In Badajoz, dozens of cases stalled due to a shortage of experts. A judge publicly raised the issue, prompting authorities to urgently reinforce staff. The new measures are expected to ease the heavy burden on the system.
In Badajoz, authorities have announced an urgent expansion of the Institute of Medicine’s staff after a judge from Don Benito publicly revealed a critical shortage of specialists. Until recently, there were only four experts working for the entire province, which led to prolonged delays in case reviews. Now, seven new team members will be added—three psychologists, three social workers, and one educator, and by September, two more autopsy technicians will join.
The problem became public after Miguel Guerrero Cobo, who heads the Court of First Instance and Inquiry No. 1 in Don Benito, spoke on the social network X about the real impact of the staffing shortage. According to him, the lack of timely psychological and social assessments forced courts to postpone decisions in family, violence, sexual offense, and child protection cases. In some instances, judges did not even request expert reports, understanding that the wait could last for years.
As Guerrero notes, this resulted in children not seeing one parent for years and victims of domestic violence being left without legal protection. Some proceedings stalled for more than two years, making court rulings irrelevant by the time they were issued. The situation was particularly acute when temporary measures were imposed in family disputes: bans on meetings between parents and children could last for years due to the lack of expert opinion.
The judge emphasizes that responsibility does not lie with the staff of the Institute of Medicine, but with the system that has ignored the problem for years. According to him, specialists have been working to the limit of their capacity, facing an overwhelming workload and complex cases. After the publication, Guerrero received feedback from colleagues in other regions where the staffing situation is also critical.
In response to the complaint, the Ministry of Justice not only increased staff in Badajoz but also introduced temporary measures: some examinations are now redirected to the Institute of Medicine in Cáceres, and the contract with the Council of Psychologists has been extended to prepare additional reports. This year, 78 additional civil examinations are planned for Badajoz. Furthermore, a pilot project has been launched in the region to speed up and standardize the preparation of forensic reports, in collaboration with higher judicial bodies and the prosecutor’s office.
The problem of a shortage of specialists in the judicial system is not limited to Badajoz. As a recent case involving the former government commissioner for DANA has shown, questions about the effectiveness and staffing of government agencies remain urgent in other regions of the country as well. More details on similar cases can be found in the article about the court case in Valencia.
For reference: Forensic institutes in Spain play a key role in preparing expert reports for courts on family matters, violence, sexual crimes, and child protection. In regions where the judicial system is directly managed by the state, staff shortages are particularly evident. Increasing personnel and introducing new protocols are expected to reduce the workload and speed up case processing; however, experts note that a sustainable solution will require a comprehensive review of the resource allocation system.
