Rep. Nelson seeks to establish veterans’ courts

Rep. Nelson seeks to establish veterans’ courts

By Rep. Bryan Nelson
September 14, 2011 12:47 p.m.

After more than a decade of U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, there is a growing awareness of the problems faced by returning veterans in their homes and communities. The service member and his or her family and friends experience this collateral damage as they cope with the aftermath of war and military action.

A recent study detailed some of the most important problems faced by returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: 14 percent of respondents indicated post traumatic stress disorder, and 12 percent of respondents indicated “mental health” as being important problems. Untreated issues such as PTSD and other mental health issues have been attributed to disruptive and destructive behavior by veterans, leading to the unfortunate statistic that nine out of every 100 individuals in U.S. jails are current or former members of our military.

More than a year ago, I received proposed language to establish “veterans’ courts” within the state of Florida. The language was based on another state’s penal code, with several successful programs already in existence in various locations such as the Buffalo, N.Y., system. The program for Florida would address the increasing involvement of military veterans who are in the criminal justice system. It would provide for pretrial diversion and would permit the judge to consider a veterans’ combat experience in making a post-trial sentencing decision.
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