Since 2008, when the first veterans treatment court opened in New York, judges across the nation have been responding to the needs of veterans struggling to recover from the psychic wounds of war. There are now 120 veterans courts in 35 states, with 100 more in the planning stages, according to the nonprofit Justice for Vets.
The need is driven by numbers: About 1.2 million veterans are arrested every year, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Many are wrestling with addictions and mental illness, conditions that lead to an elevated risk of arrest.
Not everyone endorses the idea of a veterans treatment court. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, for example, has raised questions about the rights of defendants who must plead guilty as a condition to getting help.
In a recent Bloomburg News story, a retired Connecticut Supreme Court justice said rehabilitating ex-soldiers is the responsibility of political leaders and the military, not the courts.
But they’ve been welcomed in Indiana.
“We support programs that shift the focus of criminal justice from retribution to rehabilitation,” said Andrew Cullen, legislative liaison for the Indiana Public Defender Council.
Members of the Indiana Supreme Court, who oversee the certification process for the state’s problem-solving courts, echo that sentiment.
Justice Steven David, a 28-year military veteran, has said Indiana’s service members have done “more than their fair share for the rest of us,” and that it’s appropriate for the courts to consider the profoundly negative impact of the emotional stresses of war.
That’s what Chief Justice Brent Dickson believes as well. In a statement endorsing the courts, Dickson said judges are using their authority to make sure veterans are getting the help they need and deserve. “The men and women appearing in these veterans courts have served our country honorably, but have found their way into some sort of trouble, ” Dickson said. “ ... The trial court judges handling these cases seek to empower and enable these defendants to participate as valuable, contributing members of the community.”
State News
Numbers drive creation of Indiana's military veterans courts
- State News
-
-
Indiana’s high school grad rate continues upward
Indiana’s reported high school graduation rate continues to improve, moving from 77 percent to more than 88 percent in less than a decade, but there are still significant achievement gaps marked by race and income.
-
Schools chief Ritz on fast learning curve
For many occupants of the Indiana Statehouse, the week after the General Assembly wraps up its final frenzy of work is a quiet one. But not for Glenda Ritz.
-
SLIDESHOW: Governor Otis R. Bowen
Photos from the Indiana State Archives of the late Otis R. Bowen, who served as governor of the state as well as in the Ronald Reagan White House. The Bremen native died Saturday
-
Out of office, Lugar shuns retirement
One year ago, Indiana’s longest serving U.S. senator was rejected by Republican primary voters and forced into an unwelcome retirement from a distinguished political career that spanned 46 years. But at 81, former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar is hardly in a resting mode.
-
Lugar wary of Syria involvement
Former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar has been out of office since early January, but he’s still being sought after for his opinion about foreign policy matters he once helped shape.
-
Judge grants class status to lawsuit again BMV
INDIANAPOLIS — As many as 4 million Indiana drivers could become plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has overcharged for driver’s licenses since 2007.
-
Budget deal includes little funding for criminal code reform
Facing the end-of-session deadline, Indiana legislators moved forward on a bill to overhaul the state’s criminal sentencing laws but left undone the issue of where local communities will get the money to implement it.
-
Legislators closing in on final budget
In his first four months as the chief budget maker in the Indiana House, Republican Rep. Tim Brown hasn’t been surprised by the long hours, multiple demands and intense debate that goes with crafting a $30 billion spending plan.
-
New poll shows voters tepid on Pence tax plan
With just days to go before the deadline for a final budget bill, a new independent poll shows Republican Gov. Mike Pence may not have gotten much mileage for his travels around the state pitching his 10 percent tax cut plan.
-
DOC hopes ‘cold case’ cards lead to solved cases
Indiana state prison officials are using customized playing cards for a deadly serious purpose: To help unlock the mysteries of unsolved murders and persons gone missing.
-
Indiana attorney general says Congress must act on immigration reform
Amidst concerns that the Boston Marathon bombing may derail federal action on comprehensive immigration reform, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is turning up some collective heat on Congress to move ahead.
-
Disagreements stall criminal code reform bill
Negotiations over the final language in a bill that rewrites Indiana’s criminal code may come down to the last week of the legislative session.
-
Budget forecasters predict bigger drop in gaming revenues
While a gaming bill is still in play in the General Assembly, state budget forecasters are predicting the payoff to the state from legalized gambling will be even lower than they thought.
-
Legislature heads into final stretch
The Indiana General Assembly has slogged its way through hundreds of bills since convening in January but in some critical ways, the real work has just begun.
-
Criminal records bill passes Indiana Senate
Legislation that would allow some people with long-ago arrests and convictions in Indiana to wipe clean their criminal record has moved one step closer to the governor’s desk.
-
Court challenge likely for welfare drug-testing bill
Both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly have passed a bill that ties drug testing to welfare benefits, but if signed into law, the next debate may be on the question: Is it constitutional?
-
Push to roll back ban on in-state tuition for immigrants stops short
House Republicans who wanted to roll back a two-year-old ban on in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants have abandoned their plan to expand a Senate bill covering a much smaller group of students.
-
House committee OKs in-state tuition for some undocumented students
The debate over in-state college tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants is headed for the Indiana House.
-
Legislators working on funding plan for criminal code rewrite
As legislation that overhauls Indiana’s criminal code moves forward, supporters of the bill are working on finding funding for local communities to implement it.
-
Republican super PAC leader backs immigration reform
As the politics of immigration reform heats up in the Statehouse and Congress, a prominent Republican is ramping up his efforts to rid the influence of what he calls anti-immigrant “extremists” in his party.
-
House considers bill to shorten school day
Legislation that would have freed the state’s high-performing schools from the mandatory 180-day school year has been amended in the House with a provision to shorten the school day instead.
-
House committee debates ban on in-state tuition for immigrant children
Two years after banning the children of undocumented immigrants from paying in-state tuition rates at the state’s public universities, Indiana legislators are debating whether to roll back that prohibition.
-
Pence says Senate GOP plan for 3 percent tax cut not enough
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence appears to be still dug in on his demand for a 10 percent income tax cut, despite a “nod” from Senate Republicans willing to give him a smaller slice of what he wants.
-
Conservative coalition supports rollback of immigrant tuition ban
Supporters of a national coalition of conservative clergy, law enforcement and business leaders are calling on Indiana lawmakers to roll back the state’s ban on in-state college tuition for the children of immigrants who came here illegally.
-
Pence’s 'ERASER' bill appears dead
Legislation pushed by Gov. Mike Pence to eliminate licensing requirements for more than a dozen occupations is apparently dead, killed by a lack of support from both Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly.
-
Bill limiting seclusion and restraint to discipline students moves ahead
Legislation aimed at reducing the use of physical restraints and locked isolation rooms to discipline students continues to gain support in the General Assembly.
-
House committee pushes Pence to negotiate Medicaid expansion
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has insisted he won’t expand what he calls the “broken” Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, but some state legislators are encouraging him to do so, even it’s called by another name.
-
Debate over pot penalties not over in Indiana
The politics of pot may keep Indiana lawmakers from rolling back the state’s tough marijuana laws this session, but it won’t eradicate the push for decriminalization.
-
Gun-rights lawmaker wants tougher gun penalty
One of the chief sponsors of legislation that would rewrite the Indiana criminal code wants to amend the bill to add a mandatory five-year prison sentence for using a gun to commit a felony.
-
DOC says criminal code bill will cause spike in prison numbers
A week after Gov. Mike Pence caught lawmakers by surprise with his opposition to a major criminal code reform bill, the state Department of Correction is projecting the bill will blow up the state’s prison population far beyond what the legislature’s non-partisan research agency says it will.
- More State News Headlines
-
Indiana’s high school grad rate continues upward
Raw: Tornadoes Spotted in Kansas
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Obama Exhorts Good Deeds by Morehouse Graduates
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in Florida
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Today in History for May 19th
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards
Who is $600M Powerball winner in Fla.?
Justin Bieber Gets Booed After Winning at the Billboard Awards
Top 5 Plays of the Day
Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Twiggy, the Waterskiing Squirrel
Official: ‘Amazing’ No One Was Killed In CT Train Crash
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
