Legislation to Allow Veterans to Transfer to Neighboring Special Courts

February 27, 2020

Legislation has been introduced that would allow some criminal cases against veterans struggling with addiction or mental illness to be transferred to specialized courts in other jurisdictions.   The courts, which were created in Buffalo in 2008, are designed to offer an alternative to incarceration for veterans.

The legislation, NY A8360 (19R) / NY S5059 (19R), would allow defendants the opportunity to apply for a transfer of their cases to a veterans treatment court if the local jurisdiction doesn’t have one. The county district attorney must agree to allow the transfer.

According to a report published in 2016 by American University, 44 percent of post-9/11 veterans have difficulty readjusting back to civilian life and the number of veterans treated for mental illness or substance abuse has increased by 38 percent since 2004.   A 2015 Medical Care study found that over half of all veterans in the criminal justice system have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder.

Judges and prosecutors work together to decide on what crimes are eligible for the program. Typically, misdemeanors and non-violent felonies are accepted, but violent felonies are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

According to the Community Mental Health Journal, “results suggest that veterans involved in the veterans treatment court programs experienced significant improvement in PTSD, depression, substance abuse, overall functioning, emotional well-being, relationships with others, recovery status, social connectedness, family functioning, and sleep.”