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ANOTHER SPECIAL COURT SET UP FOR VETERANS
--
Madison County, in Illinois, takes lead from
other Veterans'
Courts in New York, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Story here...
http://www.pantagrap
h.com/articles/2009/02/08/news/doc49
8f8cedf249c293990343.txt
Story below:
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-------------------------
Special court's sole function
is support of military veterans
By Jim Suhr
Associated Press
EDWARDSVILLE -- With combat duty in Vietnam under his belt, Madison County
Circuit Judge Charles Romani Jr. knows veterans often have special issues
in terms of drug treatment and mental illness. Soon, many of them may be
getting an offer of special judicial help.
Taking a page from a similar program launched a year ago in New York,
court administrators plan to launch a court designed to deal with only
military veterans charged with nonviolent crimes.
The mission: Divert many of the veterans from the criminal courts to a
program that, much like popular drug courts, will offer them treatment for
underlying issues, perhaps sparing them a criminal conviction if they
complete the treatment.
“There are a lot of services out there; one thing the court will be able
to do is get them connected” with veterans, ideally keeping them from
becoming repeat offenders, Ann Callis, the county’s chief judge, said.
Veterans’ participation will be voluntary and Callis said it will be
staffed by veterans from virtually every branch of the military. The
prosecutor will be former Marine Corps Cpl. Michael Stewart, the public
defender former Navy Lt. Tyler Bateman — officials Callis said “hopefully
would have more of an understanding (of veterans’ issues) from being
there.”
Callis said she hoped the veterans’ court would be under way locally by
early March, with no immediate expectations about how many veterans might
take part.
No additional funding would be required for the court, and Madison County
Bar Association lawyers will donate their services, Callis said.
Such courts have been cropping up elsewhere. One in Rochester, N.Y., has
the same judge who already oversees the local drug treatment and mental
health court. That court was modeled after one launched in Buffalo about a
year ago.
A similar court is being considered in Nevada’s Clark County, which
includes Las Vegas, and in western Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, which
serves Pittsburgh and its suburbs.
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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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