On a mid-December afternoon, Sixth Circuit Judge Mary S. McGowan convened Little Rock’s new Veteran’s Treatment Court (VTC) on the third floor of the Pulaski County courthouse, the second of its kind in Arkansas and one of about 40 nationwide. The mission of the VTC program is to promote recovery and rehabilitation from substance abuse and mental health issues and when successful, which is most of the time, damaged lives and broken families are restored and society benefits.
On the docket in Judge McGowan’s court were ten honorably discharged young men and women veterans whose crimes mainly had to do with drug dealing, possession of cocaine, theft of property and other non-violent crimes. What happens to them in succeeding months will be the subject of future articles, but for now it is useful to see how the system works and to get a glimpse of how veterans fare in the 40 odd courts already functioning.
First, VTCs, like drug courts, are an alternative to standard courts in that they combine the structure and accountability of a court but with a strong emphasis on treatment. They provide a non-adversarial judicial process for sentencing an offender to probation which consists of a strenuous treatment program that addresses the needs of the offender and requires regular court appearances to monitor program compliance. VTCs are typically staffed by a team consisting of the judge and court staff, a prosecutor, a public defender or private attorney representing the offender, a probation officer and a Veterans Treatment Court liaison, a key position.
Treatment services such as psychiatric counseling, 30-day recovery programs, transitional housing and other needed services are provided through local facilities. All told, the process averages about 18 months and when completed to the satisfaction of the judge, the offending vet’s record is expunged. In the Little Rock court, Toby Lambert is the Veteran’s Treatment Court liaison. He supplies Judge McGowan with vital information about each vet and is also a licensed counselor specializing in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the Fort Roots veteran’s hospital in North Little Rock. Fort Roots offers a variety of medical services to veterans including a 30-day residential treatment program when it is needed.
The court may also refer veterans to outside providers in the community. Veterans seeking to participate in the VTC must meet the following eligibility requirements: First, he or she must have a specified qualifying offense or crime, substance abuse and mental health issues or mental health issues with co-occurring substance abuse. Secondly the veteran must have an honorable, general or discharge status under honorable conditions and be eligible for Veterans Administration services. Thirdly, because the VTC is a voluntary program veterans charged with qualifying offenses must agree in writing to enter into the program and to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to communicate with the court about their treatment.
The goals of the VTC are to: 1. Hold participants accountable for their criminal offense 2. Connect eligible veterans with comprehensive treatment services, benefits coordination and support services available through the Veterans Administration. 3. Help veterans get their lives back on track after being arrested and keep them moving forward in their lives on the road to recovery and prevent recidivism, and 4. Provide the care and treatment veteran participants need to best serve their individual needs, manage their care and help them solve their problems. 5. Assist with assigning veteran participants to a court appointed VA Service Officer who will provide guidance on such things as submitting claims and related matters. 6. Reach out to veterans who have turned to drugs and alcohol, have mental health issues and have other issues of a criminal nature so that they may develop skills to live a productive and sober life, find housing and mend broken relationships. 7. Help veteran participants obtain and complete educational goals and gain employment.
So what does a VTC look like when in session? A recent report filed by CNN about Orange County, California judge Wendy Lindley shows the judge dispensing justice with tough talk and a little cheerleading directed at the former servicemen who’ve returned from war in Iraq or Afghanistan. “Mr. Baker,” Lindley asks one veteran “how long you been sober? “About four or five years,” Baker says. “Welcome back to the human race. It’s great to have you around here,” Lindley replies. “Mr. Culpepper,” the judge later addresses another offender. “The report from Veteran’s Affairs is excellent. I am going to continue you on probation on the same terms. Give him a hand folks.” The gallery offers applause.
Lindley calls what her court does, “therapeutic justice.” The Veterans Affairs Agency calls it part of a veteran justice out-reach initiative which seeks to avoid the unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and extended incarceration of veterans. The idea, all agree, is to rehabilitate offenders not punish them. For example, one veteran, Michael, who served in Army Special Operations in Afghanistan and lost a leg to a rocket propelled grenade attack, was pleading guilty to making a death threat. Instead of sentencing him to three years in jail, Lindley put him on probation and ordered 18 months of supervision and treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and problems with drugs and alcohol.
The approach seems to be working. For people participating in treatment courts, the relapse and crime recidivism rates and damage to the individual’s family and community are greatly reduced while the success rates for staying sober and living a healthy, productive life are increased. Ronald D. Castile, Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme court and a Vietnam veteran agrees VTCs are a good thing. Justice Castile, writing in the Veteran’s Day edition of The New York Times, said, “too many proud veterans resist assistance from the VA and allied private organizations, and “as a result find themselves on the wrong side of the law, for reasons related more to their experience in service to country than to criminal intent.”
As Justice Castille notes, the first such court was established through the efforts of Judge Robert T. Russell Jr. in Buffalo, N.Y. According, to Justice Castile, Judge Russell’s program had been completed by 90 percent of those who enter it without any case of recidivism.
