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Western New York Initiates Veteran?s Court Plan

By Andrew Ramonas

Former military members who end up in the federal criminal justice system in the Western District of New York may have the opportunity to enter a local court dedicated to their rehabilitation, the U.S. Attorney in Buffalo, N.Y., announced last week.

William J. Hochul Jr. (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice)

The initiative marks the first time military veterans charged with certain crimes in federal court can take advantage of the Buffalo Veteran’s Treatment Court, which ensures they have the skills necessary to have productive, law-abiding lives. A spokeswoman for the Western District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to tell Main Justice what offenses will be handled by the Veteran’s Treatment Court, saying “things will be handled on a case by case basis.”

“As a lifelong prosecutor, I have sadly come to realize that our criminal justice system, with increasing regularity, finds itself coming into contact with individuals who are military veterans,” U.S. Attorney William J. “Bill” Hochul Jr. of the Western District of New York wrote in a letter to the editor of The Buffalo News obtained by Main Justice. “Often times that contact is the result of mental health and/or drug and alcohol dependency issues related to their military service. Experience has shown that our traditional criminal justice system is ill-equipped to deal with these veterans.”

Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s office, the U.S. District Court in the Western District of New York, the Department of Veteran?s Affairs and the Veteran’s Treatment Court concurred that eligible military members would need to agree to take part in and successfully complete the court’s rehabilitation program in order for their charges to be dismissed and to avoid prosecution.

Buffalo City Court Judge Robert T. Russell established the the Veteran’s Treatment Court in 2008. The court was the first program of its kind in the United States.

“Through this process we are seeking a better way to provide justice to those veterans who, despite the sacrifices they made for our country, sadly find that they have brought the war home with them,” Hochul wrote.

Full post as published by Main Justice on September 07, 2010 (boomark / email).