By Jean Matheson
Correspondent
Veterans who have run afoul of the law because of problems with alcohol or drug abuse or with mental illness may be getting some extra help through the court system.
A new veterans treatment court will go into session Nov. 14 in a three-county area, members of the Walworth County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee were told at a meeting Sept. 14.
Andrew Graubard, administrator of the Second Judicial Commission, said the treatment court will deal specifically with substance abuse and mental health issues resulting from the veterans’ service. Veterans from all branches of the armed forces will be served, including those from the Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserve units he said.
The court, located in Racine, will serve Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties. Veterans from the western part of Walworth County will be served by the already-established Rock County veterans treatment court in Janesville.
That, Graubard said, will make it less time-consuming than if those veterans had to travel to Racine.
“The veterans will not be given anything special, only those they have already earned in the military,” Graubard told the committee.
The need for the veterans treatment courts has increased because of the large number of veterans from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the earlier Gulf wars who return to civilian life with substance abuse and mental health problems such as post traumatic stress disorder, he said.
The Veterans Administration and county veterans service offices will screen persons referred to the court and judges and district attorneys will be involved in the court’s operations and, in some cases, may reduce charges against a criminal defendants.
Veterans charged with such serious offenses as homicide, rape or stalking would not be served by the new court, Graubard said.
Officials nix proposal for courthouse bus service
On another issue, the county criminal justice committee decided at its Sept. 14 meeting not to proceed with a proposal that county busses be used to transport people to Elkhorn for criminal court appearances.
Too many people ordered not to drive in cases of drunken driving or driving while their licenses are revoked or suspended persist in driving anyway, even to and from court hearings, some officials have said.
“The Sheriff’s Department has been quite diligent about arresting some of those people,” said David Thompson, deputy director of the county’s Health and Human Services Department.
But referring to the plan to transport defendants to court sessions, Thompson said, “It looks like a rather expensive operation that wouldn’t be cost effective.”
The estimated weekly cost of bus service between Delavan and Elkhorn would be $165, with that cost somewhat more for service to Lake Geneva, he said.
County Board Chairwoman Nancy Russell suggested the committee get estimates from taxi companies in the area about their costs for such a program.
But the committee, in a show of hands, voted to abandon the entire plan for now.
