Judge Stephen Manley says "It's Vietnam all over again"

Fisher: Courts learn lessons from Vietnam
By Patty Fisher


pfisher@mercurynews.com

Posted: 05/11/2010 04:06:25 PM PDT
Updated: 05/11/2010 10:21:53 PM PDT


For Superior Court Judge Stephen Manley, seeing a steady stream of Gulf War veterans and more from Iraq and Afghanistan in his courtroom is eerily familiar.

"It's Vietnam all over again," he said.

Since 1995, Manley has created special courts in Santa Clara County for defendants suffering from substance abuse problems or mental illness, offering them treatment instead of prison. It didn't take him long to notice that many of the defendants were Vietnam-era veterans who struggled with physical and mental conditions related to their war experiences and had been in and out of jail.

"I was frustrated for many years," he recalled. "I've had veterans who are in their 50s and 60s and still homeless and still don't have appropriate treatment because the courts and the Veterans Administration just didn't work together."

Now he is seeing a new crop of veterans in his San Jose courtroom. More than 2 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. One-third of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression or other mental illness. At least a fifth struggle with drug or alcohol dependency.

"We know a lot of these vets will commit crimes," Manley said. "What we have learned over the years is that we never provided the appropriate treatment for Vietnam vets who came into the system, and many of them are still with us."
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