No Judge in Maine's Veterans Court, really, no judge

Maine Veterans' Court Ready to Go - But no Judge
Maine Public Broadcasting Network
Reported By: Tom Porter
11/01/2013

It's been about 18 months now since the state Legislature passed a law allowing special courts to be set up specifically to help veterans. In return for pleading guilty, veterans in the court system are put in touch with treatment programs, peer mentors and other services to help them get their lives back on track. So far, the only Veterans Court set up is in Kennebec County. The special court is ready to go, but as Tom Porter reports, there's one big glitch.

The program was set up in Kennebec County, in part to meet the needs of younger vets, many of them suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. A year-and-half after lawmakers OK'd veterans' courts, the Kennebec County program is still the only one in the state.

"We're really hoping to be able to do a Veterans Court in our area," says Sgt. Victoria Langelier, a programs director at the Androscoggin County jail in Auburn. Most of the pieces are in place for Androscoggin County to have its own vets court, she says - but one key ingredient is missing: They can't find a judge.

Langelier says the position is a demanding one, and it's unfunded.

"From what I understand it's all pro bono - it's not a paid spot," she says. "And it is quite a lengthy procedure to get the veterans in and out of the court, make sure that everything is going the way it should be, to make sure they're following up in all of their support systems that they're getting through Togus and through their counselors."

Since Veterans Courts were established in May 2012, Langelier says 129 vets have passed through the Androscoggin County Jail system. Only two of them were able to be referred to the specialty Veterans Court in Kennebec County.
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