Veterans courts
The idea for a court specialized for veterans began with Judge Robert Russell in Buffalo, N.Y. in 2008 and the idea has been spreading across the country ever since. In Ohio, several are operating and several more are in the beginning stages. According to the Supreme Court in Ohio, here are the veterans courts in action and those awaiting certification from the Ohio Supreme Court when the new certification process begins Jan. 1, 2014.
Currently operating
• Cleveland Municipal Court’s Veterans Treatment Docket
• Franklin County Municipal Court’s Military and Veterans Service Specialty Docket
• Hamilton County Common Pleas Court’s Veterans Treatment Court
• Hamilton County Municipal Veterans Court
• Lorain County Probate Court’s Veterans Treatment Court
• Mansfield Municipal Court’s Veterans Court
• Marion Municipal Veterans Court
• Middletown Municipal Veterans Court
• Stark County Common Pleas Court’s Honor Court
• Summit County Valor Court (a joint venture between the Summit County Common Pleas Court and the Akron Municipal Court)
• Youngstown Municipal Court’s Veterans Treatment Court
Awaiting certification for veterans courts
• Cleveland Municipal Court
• Marion County Municipal Court
• Franklin County Municipal Court
• Stark County Common Pleas Court
• Akron Municipal Court
• Summit County Common Pleas Court
• Hamilton County Common Pleas Court
• Hamilton County Municipal court
• Montgomery County Common Pleas Court
Eight defendants appeared in front of Judge Dennis Adkins, but before speaking about their probation and without talking about their crimes, the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court judge did something else: He thanked each and every one for their military service to the United States.
“I figure if anyone needs a second chance or help, it’s those that have served our country,” Adkins said about the county’s first Veterans Treatment Court docket earlier this month. “They’d come back from a tour in Afghanistan or Iraq and they’d get involved in the criminal justice system and usually by the use of alcohol or drugs or some sort of violent outbreak … there has to be some sort of relationship.”
Montgomery County’s new veterans court is one of fewer than two dozen in Ohio that hope to match resources with veterans who may have alcohol, drug, PTSD or mental health issues. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, veterans make up about 9 percent of the country’s prison and jail population. Government statistics show veterans are more likely to be homeless and commit suicide than other segments of society.
Veterans court differs from regular court in that it is designed to help veterans work on the issues that may have led to their crimes. Many vets enter the program because they are on probation and intervention was seen as a better option than incarceration. Sanctions for failing to meet expectations may include more treatment or counseling, similar to drug court. Officials seek to get veterans to take their medications, get job skills training, access benefits and secure safe and stable housing.
Instead of having to gather probation information from multiple sources, the VA and Veteran Justice Outreach Coordinator Teresa Sichman will monitor comprehensive treatment plans, just like she does in Middletown.
“Veterans are big on the camaraderie, so the idea is that … they’ll come together kind of like when they were in the military and be able to support each other through the process. They really bond,” Sichman said. “(Hamilton County) had two participants down there that got married.”
The veterans court idea gained national momentum in a Buffalo, N.Y. courtroom in 2008. There are similar programs in Middletown Municipal Court and Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Adkins said research has shown that 72 veterans — men and women — are being supervised on county community control and that the initial group in vet court could grow to 20 to 40 people.
Montgomery County officials said the court won’t cost taxpayers any more money, since existing court time and staff will be used along with the Veterans’ Administration resources. After a Dec. 11 ceremonial docket complete with an address from retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton, the 2014 schedule is for veterans court to be held every other Wednesday.
“It’s just putting together the resources that are already in place to run a veterans court in your community,” said Jim Dare, the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court administrator. Dare was on the nine-member advisory committee that started this process a year ago.
Elaine Herrick, another member of the committee, is an Air Force veteran who said she also served during the Vietnam era — just like one of the men appearing in front of Adkins. “It was only two years ago that somebody said to me, ‘Thank you for your service.’ My knees almost buckled,” Herrick said. “I didn’t think that was important to me.”
Willis Taylor, an Army veteran who served for four years in the 1980s, said he drank every day for more than 20 years before multiple alcohol-related charges put him into Middletown’s criminal justice system. He also became homeless.
Taylor has basically completed his time in Middletown’s veterans court and said he’s been sober for 13.5 months. He said he now lives in temporary VA housing and has a good job in the commissary at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
“Get in it and make the best of it,” Taylor said. “A lot of people get nervous. ‘Oh, I’ve got to go to court.’ I actually look forward to going to the court every month. They actually help instead of trying to hurt you.”
“As long as you do what they ask you to do and follow their guidelines and rules,” Taylor added. “They will go out of their way to help you straighten up.”
To be eligible for Montgomery County’s Veteran Treatment Court, defendants must have had general or honorable discharges from the military, have committed third-, fourth- or fifth-degree felonies (others considered on a case-by-case basis) and be deemed eligible for services for by Veterans Affairs.
Three phases lasting a minimum of six months must be completed before any veteran is deemed eligible to “graduate” from the program. Probation officer Tom Blatter, a Marine veteran, said defendants must be willing to be helped.
“Today’s court is kind of like a boot camp,” Blatter said Nov. 20. “You’re going to be thrown in. You’re not going to know what to expect. People are going to be telling you what to do.
“I tell the clients the first time I meet them, it’s going to be more intensive. However, because it’s more intensive and the judge is involved in it, he is going to get to know you better; he is going to fight for you better; he is going to try to help you a lot more.”
Adkins’ brother, Ernest, was in Vietnam and earned a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star before retiring as a colonel in the Ohio National Guard. Adkins said his brother suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder before he died of pancreatic cancer.
“I’m not saying everybody that comes back from the war has problems — it’s just a few,” Adkins said. “But we thought we needed to do something for those individuals.”
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