Living the Lives They Fought to Protect

Recently, this article ran in the New York Times: Veterans Trickle Through a Special New York Court Known Only to a Few. The gist of the story is that although New York has Veterans' Treatment Courts, they are underutilized, unknown to the general public and not tracked or evaluated by those who run them. The story could not be more different in Harris County.

At any given time, there are hundreds of veterans in the Harris County Jail or out on bond for a pending

criminal charge. Many of them are justice-involved due to trauma, addiction or a mental health

condition related to their service. It is estimated that one in five veterans suffer from post-traumatic

stress disorder, one in five have symptoms of a mental health disorder or cognitive

impairment/traumatic brain injury, and one in six struggles with a substance use disorder. Others deal

with emotional distress related to military sexual trauma. Many veterans leaving the military face

challenges assimilating back into their family and community. Too often they turn to alcohol or drugs to

escape from their unseen wounds. Transitioning home is difficult and for some, leads to unemployment,

homelessness, and arrests.

In 2009, Judge Marc Carter started the first Veterans’ Treatment Court in Texas as an alternative for

justice-involved veterans in Harris County. The collaboration between the Harris County District Courts

and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center guides veterans into lifesaving treatment,

provides accountability and structure, and most importantly, connects them to federal benefits they

earned through their service. In Veterans’ Treatment Court, veterans are surrounded and supported by

other veterans. They are connected to veteran mentors who walk along side and encourage the

veterans throughout the process.

Like other Specialty Courts, Veterans' Treatment Courts have essential elements that ensure better

outcomes. One major component is a multidisciplinary team that includes a judge, prosecutor, defense

attorney, probation officer, clinical staff and a veterans justice outreach coordinator from the VA and

mentors. These teams commit to meet regularly to discuss the veteran’s progress and work in a non-

adversarial manner that promotes public safety and protects the veteran’s due process rights. Other

components include ongoing judicial interaction with participants, the integration of substance use,

mental health and trauma treatment services, substance use monitoring to instill accountability, and

graduated sanctions and incentives to address or reward behavior change.

To address the needs of veterans charged with a misdemeanor, the Harris County Criminal Courts at Law

started a misdemeanor Veterans’ Treatment Court in 2015. The graduates from these two courts are

now living the lives they fought to protect.

Veterans’ Treatment Courts in Harris County are well established and well known within our local criminal justice system.  Help us spread the word in the greater community about these life-changing programs. These courts are restoring veterans and their families by connecting them to therapeutic services and benefits while saving taxpayer dollars. That’s a win win!