Veterans' Courts
Published July 29, 2009 @ 05:46AM PT
Following on the successes of drug courts and mental health courts, Illinois and Nevada this year created veterans' courts to focus on the unique needs and community of veterans charged with crimes. The movement toward specialized courts makes sense - by focusing on a specific population a court can often better manage alternative sentences and connect defendants with state services providing housing, counseling, health care and more. Anything that makes the courts less of a conveyor belt is a good thing in my book.
I've written about the success of drug courts and mental health courts, but the jury is still out on the brand-new veterans' courts. While there is near unanimous support for drug and mental health courts, there's some debate over a policy that singles out veterans. In Nevada, the ACLU has opposed the initiative. Allen Lichtenstein, the general counsel for the ACLU of Nevada, said veterans’ courts are tantamount to creating special courts for “crimes committed by police officers, teachers or politicians."
I disagree with the ACLU's position on this one. We have specialized services for veterans and connecting defendants with those services is critical to avoiding long prison sentences and potential future crimes. About 10 percent of the U.S. prison population - more than 200,000 people - served in the military. With the worrisome rate of post traumatic stress disorder in soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, this initiative may have arrived just in time.
The new courts in Illinois and Nevada will be modeled after the nation's first veterans' court, in Buffalo, N.Y. There, judge Robert Russell (above, at the bench) says the specialized treatment for veterans helps build community and opportunity.
"They look to the right or to the left, they're sitting there with another vet, and it's a more calming, therapeutic environment," Russell said. "Rather than them being of the belief that 'people don't really understand me,' or 'they don't know what it's like' - well, it's a room full of folks who do."
Share this Post
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
StumbleUpon
Delicious
EmailComments (18)
Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.
Author
-
Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.
Featured Criminal Justice Actions
-
-
-
Overturn the Texas Prison Book Ban
197 People
-
Overturn the Texas Prison Book Ban
I was wondering about how the Veterans with stress disorders would be treated on returning home.
The reason we were in the CVS store was because my girlfriend was experiencing an undiagnosed anxiety disorder, she had lost her therapist to a new job and the institution, CSB, was ignoring her complaints about a reaction to medication. We had spent the night in the ER so she was still wearing the hospital bracelet. That morning in the CVS store my girlfriend was lethargic, I was getting breakfast and planning on taking the day off to get the medication straightened out - we were not disruptive. I asked the cops one question, why did he want my id in the store and he would not answer that question. The cops were fixated on making an arrest, circumstances were irrelevant.
I am a veteran and I was thinking what would these cops have done to an Iraq veteran returning from a hostile theater or homeless. In my case I took the cops beating but thoughts of getting even were not far off as I sat in jail - just glad that the sentence was survivable. Now someone who is on the edge with those cops would result in ignition....
Posted by jowey styxx on 07/29/2009 @ 04:45PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
Jowey - as a veteran I'm curious about your thoughts on veteran courts - are they helpful since they can specialize in the needs specific to vets or is it inappropriate and/or offensive to single out veterans in a separate court?
Posted by Matt Kelley on 07/29/2009 @ 04:57PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
This is way off of my normal beat but as another old Vet from back in the dark ages, 1966-67 Infantry, Vietnam, I see nothing inappropriate nor anything that any Vet should take as offensive in trying to tailor services to their special circumstances. All Vets aren't combat Vets, the majority are not, but those who are have experienced things most people can't imagine in their worst nightmares and there is no doubt that they would be more comfortable with those who may have shared the experience. Sorry ACLU your comparison to cops, teachers and politicians is not even close.
Posted by Thomas Kinney on 07/30/2009 @ 04:35PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
My dad was blessed he had my mom and his sister to help until his death to help him when he was sick. I experienced the same in the Rite-Aid pharmacy with my son watching this cop wanting to arrest me while I was literally dying. I had help, I am sorry that you had to take a beating. I am all for anything that will help out the people who like my father joined the Armed services for whatever their own personal reason may be. Take care and next time please just count to 10 that way you won't loose just time, you might loose your life...Question, did they threaten you with the Patriot Act, I was by the paramedics when I gave them a smart answer to their question of who is the president. I stated he is he is the son of the former president, which is true...So please be careful...Sarah
Posted by Sarah Burnside on 08/07/2009 @ 02:57AM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
At one time in the State of California, approximately 60% of the prison inmate population were veterans. This was the system of justice's form of rehabilitation. Many veterans have special needs after coming home from the battlefield so yes, there should be special courts. When we came home to California after the WW11 victory, we were given the unemployment rights of 52 weeks at $20.00 a week along with the rest of the unemployed.
Posted by Otto VonAuchvetter on 07/31/2009 @ 11:08AM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I think it is absolutely APPROPRIATE that Vets are treated a little different. They served this country and their issues are many times related to their service. Give them what they need. ACLU you are wrong on this one. NOT EVERYONE IS EQUAL.
Posted by Elena Morris on 07/31/2009 @ 12:23PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
There are many veterans disorders stemming from the wars. One Vet I know gets lost just going to the post office. Another has a situation where his mind seems to drift away from his body. He is there but he is not here. Some need help in courts for forgetting to pay a traffic ticket and so on.
Posted by Otto VonAuchvetter on 07/31/2009 @ 03:27PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
What in the World will they come up with next?
Posted by Jennifer Bland on 07/31/2009 @ 03:31PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
You obviously aren't a veteran and don't understand the issue. Jennifer, go back to your cave.
Posted by Carolyn Allard on 08/09/2009 @ 01:57AM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I feel it's only Just. I go to the VA pretty regularly, sometimes you can see the Pieces missing, sometimes you can't.
Posted by Michael Tichonuk on 07/31/2009 @ 03:47PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I am a well-decorated veteran of two combat tours in Vietnam. I served to defend my country and our Constitution, which calls for the equal protection of all citizens.
I suffer from PTSD and effects of Agent Orange. If I were to find myself in court (again) I would certainly appreciate assistance from the VA (in an amicus capacity) for many of the reasons presented above. However, I do not think that vets should have their own court, any more than I think battered spouses, the mentally challenged, or members of Congress should have their own courts. And sending me to Veterans Court may further stigmatize me.
Everyone who has a case before the bench should have an advocate, bit this is not the way. Drug Courts are somewhat successful because they recognize that drug addiction must be addressed in order to begin criminal rehabilitation; the defendants have an issue in common. However, educating judges, and providing amicus services on behalf of defendants would likely be equally effective and not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
Posted by Brian Kuester on 07/31/2009 @ 05:50PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I belive we, vets, do need this set up. If you go to court now and there is a woman involed in any way, you are going to lose. There is no way a higher court will over turn this, at least not here in Alaska.
Posted by James Brouillette on 07/31/2009 @ 07:20PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I think this is a tiny bit of actual good news in America when it seems all news is bad news. Veteren's court sounds like a good idea.
Posted by Andrew Markoff on 07/31/2009 @ 10:23PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I think the veterans court is a good idea and quite an innovative one at that. I have to wonder with some of the stories about troops coming home not getting proper care if some of their mental health issues lead them to getting into trouble. I'm not making excuses for them, just saying there might be some causation there.
Posted by David English on 07/31/2009 @ 11:02PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I think the real issue is what are vets receiving the support need to deal combat related issues, not whether we need special courts.
Posted by Robbin Randolph on 08/02/2009 @ 09:08AM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I feel that the veteran courts is a start to a much broader spectrum of events that should have been in place long ago as well as for the present and future. I feel that the military needs to have a better seperation program that is inclusive of circumstances directly affecting the veteran such as the life style they had prior to entering the military, the lifestyle that they obtained in the military and what lifestyle that they face coming out of the military to include financial, social, statistical, emotional, demographical and geographical benefits and hazards that could befall them ... us, because I too am a vet that fell through the cracks. I don't blame anyone because their were choices along the way that allowed me to improve or impovrish my way of life. I'm an exoffender looking to battle all of the old ghosts haunting me to this day as a result of the poor decisions that I was forced to make as a result of not being prepared for the "outside" world. I have a lot to say but will continue later.
Posted by David Smalls on 08/02/2009 @ 11:04AM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
Just a little infor. about Alaska,of the inmates here most are natives and the second largest group are vets. We have tryed over the years to get the system to look at this but the WALL makes it impostable to anything about this.
Posted by James Brouillette on 08/04/2009 @ 01:37PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
If you can expect to send someone off to war and have them return unaffected and fit back into society without any problems, you need your head examined.
Posted by Dave Kisor on 08/06/2009 @ 05:40PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.