NBC's "TODAY" SHOW TO SPOTLIGHT BUFFALO'S VETERANS
TREATMENT COURT -- Judge Russell: "It is my hope that other jurisdictions will use our experience to critically examine how they can better serve the veterans who come through the criminal courts."
NBC's "Today" show spotlights Veterans Treatment Court in Buffalo
Advocacy program is first in the nation
By Lou Michel NEWS STAFF REPORTER
The national spotlight is shining on Buffalo City Judge Robert T. Russell Jr. and his Veterans Treatment Court, which started in January and is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
Last week, a camera crew from NBC’s “Today” show filmed the judge addressing the Bar Association of Erie County’s new ad hoc committee on legal issues involving veterans and service members.
Tuesday, the “Today” show will again film the judge and his staff in the courtroom at Buffalo City Court for the segment, which is expected to air in the near future.
Russell, working with area veteran organizations, the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, police agencies and mental health experts, initiated the vets court in response to a disproportionate number of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.
go here for more
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfsep08/nf092308-1.htm
Showing posts with label Judge Robert Russell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judge Robert Russell. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Judge Robert Russell, hands out justice and help to veterans
Special court for vets addresses more than crime
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
The Associated Press
Sunday, July 6, 2008; 12:22 PM
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The first clue that the Tuesday afternoon session in Part 4 of Buffalo City Court is not like other criminal proceedings comes just before it starts.
Judge Robert Russell steps down from his bench and from the aloofness of his black robe. He walks into the gallery where men and women accused of stealing, drug offenses and other non-violent felonies and misdemeanors fidget in plastic chairs.
"Good afternoon," he says, smiling, and talks for a minute about the session ahead.
With the welcoming tone set, Russell heads back behind the bench, where he will mete out justice with a disarming mix of small talk and life-altering advice.
While the defendants in this court have been arrested on charges that could mean potential prison time and damaging criminal records, they have another important trait in common: All have served their country in the military.
That combination has landed them here, in veterans treatment court, the first of its kind in the country.
Russell is the evenhanded quarterback of a courtroom team of veterans advocates and volunteers determined to make this brush with the criminal justice system these veterans' last.
"They look to the right or to the left, they're sitting there with another vet," Russell said, "and it's a more calming, therapeutic environment. Rather than them being of the belief that `people don't really understand me,' or `they don't know what it's like' _ well, it's a room full of folks who do."
If the veterans adhere to a demanding 1- to 2-year regimen of weekly to monthly court appearances, drug testing and counseling for any combination of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, substance abuse or anger management, they could see their charges dismissed, or at least stay out of jail.
click post title for more
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
The Associated Press
Sunday, July 6, 2008; 12:22 PM
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The first clue that the Tuesday afternoon session in Part 4 of Buffalo City Court is not like other criminal proceedings comes just before it starts.
Judge Robert Russell steps down from his bench and from the aloofness of his black robe. He walks into the gallery where men and women accused of stealing, drug offenses and other non-violent felonies and misdemeanors fidget in plastic chairs.
"Good afternoon," he says, smiling, and talks for a minute about the session ahead.
With the welcoming tone set, Russell heads back behind the bench, where he will mete out justice with a disarming mix of small talk and life-altering advice.
While the defendants in this court have been arrested on charges that could mean potential prison time and damaging criminal records, they have another important trait in common: All have served their country in the military.
That combination has landed them here, in veterans treatment court, the first of its kind in the country.
Russell is the evenhanded quarterback of a courtroom team of veterans advocates and volunteers determined to make this brush with the criminal justice system these veterans' last.
"They look to the right or to the left, they're sitting there with another vet," Russell said, "and it's a more calming, therapeutic environment. Rather than them being of the belief that `people don't really understand me,' or `they don't know what it's like' _ well, it's a room full of folks who do."
If the veterans adhere to a demanding 1- to 2-year regimen of weekly to monthly court appearances, drug testing and counseling for any combination of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, substance abuse or anger management, they could see their charges dismissed, or at least stay out of jail.
click post title for more
Monday, June 2, 2008
Buffalo NY offers treatment instead of jail for veterans
City launches treatment court for vets
By Matthew Daneman - USA Today
Posted : Monday Jun 2, 2008 12:42:38 EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — When police entered Tom Irish’s suburban Buffalo home March 9 responding to a call about a disturbance, the 59-year-old Army veteran says he did not see uniformed officers.
He says he was drunk on vodka, suffering from a flashback to his wartime experiences, and saw in his mind the Viet Cong soldiers he fought close to 40 years ago.
“I’m still in recovery, still facing myself,” Irish said as he stood last month before Buffalo City Court Judge Robert Russell in a courtroom half-filled with fellow military veterans in trouble with the law.
Instead of time behind bars, Irish is in counseling. The felony weapons possession charge against him — for brandishing a loaded shotgun at police — likely will be dropped if he finishes everything required of him by Buffalo’s veterans treatment court, according to Hank Pirowski, project director for Buffalo City Court.
Russell, who created Buffalo’s drug treatment court in 1995 and mental health treatment court in 2003, started holding sessions in January in what is, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Drug Court Institute, the nation’s first veterans’ treatment court.
The defendants all are military veterans or family members. The court typically handles nonviolent offenses, Russell said, with the veterans required to get mental health or addiction counseling, find jobs, stay clean and sober and get their lives back on track.
Court meets weekly or biweekly, with veterans reporting back about once a month to update the court on their progress, Russell said. The judge said that, based on his past experience with other treatment courts, the veterans tend to remain in treatment court a year or more before making enough progress to graduate and see their charges reduced or cases adjourned.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/gns_vetscourt_060208/
By Matthew Daneman - USA Today
Posted : Monday Jun 2, 2008 12:42:38 EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — When police entered Tom Irish’s suburban Buffalo home March 9 responding to a call about a disturbance, the 59-year-old Army veteran says he did not see uniformed officers.
He says he was drunk on vodka, suffering from a flashback to his wartime experiences, and saw in his mind the Viet Cong soldiers he fought close to 40 years ago.
“I’m still in recovery, still facing myself,” Irish said as he stood last month before Buffalo City Court Judge Robert Russell in a courtroom half-filled with fellow military veterans in trouble with the law.
Instead of time behind bars, Irish is in counseling. The felony weapons possession charge against him — for brandishing a loaded shotgun at police — likely will be dropped if he finishes everything required of him by Buffalo’s veterans treatment court, according to Hank Pirowski, project director for Buffalo City Court.
Russell, who created Buffalo’s drug treatment court in 1995 and mental health treatment court in 2003, started holding sessions in January in what is, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Drug Court Institute, the nation’s first veterans’ treatment court.
The defendants all are military veterans or family members. The court typically handles nonviolent offenses, Russell said, with the veterans required to get mental health or addiction counseling, find jobs, stay clean and sober and get their lives back on track.
Court meets weekly or biweekly, with veterans reporting back about once a month to update the court on their progress, Russell said. The judge said that, based on his past experience with other treatment courts, the veterans tend to remain in treatment court a year or more before making enough progress to graduate and see their charges reduced or cases adjourned.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/gns_vetscourt_060208/
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