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January 7, 2009

More details to come | Judge envisions state’s first veterans court

Anonymous The Tribune-Democrat Wed Jan 07, 2009, 12:01 PM EST

We’re all ears and open minds when it comes to any proposal that benefits our military veterans, for whom we have the utmost respect.

However, we’re skeptical about an effort to establish special state courts – and spend more tax money – to hear cases involving veterans who commit crimes related to stress or other combat-related disorders.

According to an Associated Press report this week, an effort is being led by an Allegheny County judge to establish Pennsylvania’s first veterans court in Allegheny County, which serves Pittsburgh and its suburbs.

The judge is no stranger to veterans issues obviously: He is a former Navy Seabee and Vietnam veteran. He says the court would let veterans who commit misdemeanors get counseling for problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or substance abuse, instead of incarceration.

Certainly, we need new ideas to address the serious issue of overcrowded prisons.

PTSD is something we have been hearing a great deal about in recent months, on both the local front and from our federal leaders. A lot of tax dollars are being spent on research and treatment and we urge that work to continue. U.S. Rep. John Murtha, in an article on this page on Jan. 2, said 300,000-plus cases of PTSD are expected to result from current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Very scary.

Although our system of justice isn’t flawless, we are served in most cases by competent and highly qualified judges, lawyers and other court officials. Defendants have a right to a trial before a jury of their peers.

In most cases where a defendant’s mental stability is being questioned, he or she is professionally evaluated.

Officials hope the new courts would prevent veterans from becoming repeat offenders. That’s certainly a worthwhile goal.

A task force is expected to be formed later this month to work out the details of the proposed veterans courts.

We’ll be eager to hear much more about this proposal – hopefully before huge amounts of dollars are invested.

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