Anyone hear of Veterans Court? What is it?

I have. We have a few here in Massachusetts that have been doing a good job of addressing the needs of veterans. It seems to be working well, not only veterans but also court officers I know have been passing on the positive outcomes. The outcome in a regular court would have been very different. They don't let you off the hook, so to speak, but they do allow you to prove you deserve a second chance.

We have that in our county. It is for veteran's who find themselves in trouble with the law and can get into programs through the court to help keep them out of trouble and rehabilitate.

Several states conduct veterans courts. Also, free legal clinics for vets are held at various locations. I use my LINKS FOR MIL\RET\VETS website at http://www.hostmtb.org to spread the word about these and other veterans related events such as town hall meetings, stand downs, job fairs, etc. If interested, the retiree\veterans events schedule can be reached directly at
http://www.hostmtb.org/RADs_and_Other_Retiree-Veterans_Events.html

Dallas TX and fort Worth Tx.each have one.

Yes is for when you a noon get in the service and you've gotten in trouble say for domestic violence then the judge will take in to acct.of your service and if you every been in combat zone . He then will postpone your court case un-till you have been seen by the VA. Doctors to see if you are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and if you are then the judge will order you to be treated for it and like me I didn't even know I had it even after everyone else said I had it bad I didn't belive them till the doctors said I had it bad. After that I got treatments for it he discovered missed the case after he spoke with the doctors and my wife.

Last month's Army Magazine had a great and in-depth article on VTCs; unfortunately its not online and you need to be an AUSA member to see it. The one here in Las Vegas (Henderson actually south of the Strip) has done great things and is overseen by a retired Marine JAG judge, several of the court officers are Vets, and the mentor coordinator is a retired Army O-6. Mentors are "battle buddies" and work with the mentees who must work to make it out of the program. Here is a nation wide perspective article I came across recently (before the Army Magazine one): http://www.justiceforvets.org/what-is-a-veterans-treatment-court

In a nutshell, veterans courts are a community initiative to help veterans that have found themselves in trouble with the law due to service related conditions and/or difficulty transitioning to civilian life. These lucky veterans can get the help they need adjusting rather than sitting in jail. Its a great program but not every city or county has them.

Wish there was one in Virginia. Would have helped me for sure.

Yes we have a small Vets court one in Maine, it is supposed to help Vets who get in trouble attain job skills,counseling help accessing the programs available for the VA. I would like to start housing units just for vets in county jails in Maine. I would like to see Vet courts extended to all 50 states and all 14 counties in Maine. As we all are well aware of the service cares about you while your of use to them, but they don't want to pay or provide the care you need after you get out. We thought things changed after Vietnam but after working in corrections for 14 years I can tell you it has not. We need to do all we can to help our fellow Soldier's/Airmen/Marines and Sailors.

The better part of Veterans' courts as opposed to the drug courts, is that the judges and prosecutors are receiving more education and training in veterans issues. With a better knowledge of the psychological side, the courts are doing much better than they were initially expected to. Add in the mentors and VA assistance programs and it's much better than the drug court system. We have them here in Idaho, too. Law enforcement is a lot more tolerant of homeless veterans now as well; instead of a flurry of vagrancy citations there's increased support being given to them.