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Brandon Farrimond

Jamie McBeth Smith


English 1010-006
4/2/2015
Annotated Bibliography
As America begins to wind down from over a decade of intense ground
combat in Afghanistan and Iraq the American Justice system is seeing an increase in
Veterans entering the justice system for crimes ranging anywhere from the
simplest of crimes to the worst of crimes including capital crimes. Often times these
crimes can be linked to mental or physical injuries that are incurred in combat or a
direct result of their military service. As Veterans kept filling the court systems the
idea was brought about to start a specialized court similar to drug and mental
health courts to steer Veterans with VA benefits towards rehabilitation rather than
incarceration.
This issue is very personal to myself as I have been through the court system
due to substance abuse and mental health issues and had a court like this been
around when I first entered the court system maybe years of misery and further
charges could have been avoided. My educational goal of going to law school and
becoming an attorney is also directly related to this as I hope to be able to assist
veterans through the justice system and be able to use not only my knowledge but
also my personal experiences to help Veterans return to a meaningful and
productive life in the civilian world.

Some opponents of these types of specialized courts tend to point to


recidivism rates and believe that they arent high enough to justify this type of court
and what makes a veteran deserve to get special treatment above other offenders.
As I explore the issues of Veterans court I would like to further understand what
makes these courts successful and help reintegrate these veterans into the civilian
world.
Cartwright, Tiffany. To Care For Him Who Shall Have Borne The Battle The Recent
Development Of

Veterans Treatment Courts in America. Stanford Law & Policy

Review 22.1 (2011): 295-316. Legal Collection. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.


Tiffany Cartwright explores the reasonings that we need Veterans
courts and how crimes among veterans since the civil war have been
committed and the history of attempts to help treat Veterans through
various legal remedies. She then goes on to explain how Veterans respond
better to a more structured and disciplined type of court and why these types
of courts work better because they are structured more as a military unit
then other courts are.
Tiffany Cartwright is a law professor at the University of Stanford who
has extensively studied and researched the need for Veterans courts and the
best way to make these courts work and function properly to ensure the
highest rates of success as possible.
Tiffany Cartwrights article covers the whole spectrum of both the pros
and cons of Veterans court and what makes them successful and the
reasonings for these courts. Her opinions and research show she is not one
sided on the issue but very neutral.

GARZA JR., ROSENDO. "The Soldier Bears The Deepest Wounds And Scars Of
War": Mobilizing Connecticut To Implement A Veterans Treatment
Court." Connecticut Law Review 46.5 (2014): 1937-1973. Legal Collection. Web. 26
Apr. 2015.
Rosendo Garza Jr. starts his case to establish a Veterans Treatment
Court (VTC) in the state of Connecticut by describing a sporting event with
Veterans out on the field for halftime holding the American flag and a loud
cheer by the crowd in recognition of the sacrifice these veterans have made.
Sounds normal enough but as the author explains for all intents and purposes
cheering for troops provides a convenient mechanism for voiding obligation
and perhaps easing guilty consciences.

Slattery, Michelle, et al. "Catch, Treat, And Release: Veteran Treatment Courts
Address The Challenges Of Returning Home." Substance Use & Misuse 48.10 (2013):
922-932. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.
Michelle Slattery starts her article by laying out the reasons why we
need Veterans court as well as adding some statistics about veterans crime
rates. Slattery then gets into the details of how mental health issues such as
PTSD, TBIs (traumatic brain injury), substance abuse and depression play a
part in the crime rates of Veterans. Slattery then uses the Veterans Court in
Colorado Springs as an example and shows the statistics of how all of these
things fit together and make it necessary for more veterans courts to be
founded. Slattery then states that even though this research shows that

Veterans court is having a positive impact more research is needed to


continue to improve these results.
Michelle Slattery is the Lead Evaluator for the Jail Diversion and Trauma
Recovery which conducts numerous research projects on the correctional
systems of various entities. She has a broad array of facts and statistics that
support her work as well as citing numerous well known agencies.

Michelle Slatterys analysis shows a broader scope of the effects of


veterans courts from the reasons they are needed as well as goes into great
detail of the root of this problem which is mental health. Her emphasis on
showing how each participant has an effect on the court as well is very
enlightening.

Smith, Jack W. "The Anchorage, Alaska Veterans Court And Recidivism: July 6, 2004
-- December 31, 2010." Alaska Law Review 29.1 (2012): 93-111.
Jack Smith explains the steps that Alaska went through to
establish what is known as the first Veterans court in 2004. The court
has now successfully been in operation for 11 years but at the time of
this article had been in operation for 7 years. Jack goes on to show the
rates of success and failure as well as what caused the successes and
failures. He also notes that one of the biggest problems facing
Veterans courts are other specialized courts that feel they are doing

the same thing that they do. He also notes the fact that funding is also
a major hurdle for these courts.
Jack Smith is the Presiding judge over the courts in Alaska now
and was also instrumental in starting and establishing the ground rules
for these courts.
Jack Smiths article shows the tremendous effort it takes to start
these courts as well as what it takes to make them work and shows it
takes true diligence and a belief for the cause to make them work.

TOTMAN, BETH. "Seeing The Justice System Through A Soldier's Eyes: A Call To
Action For Maryland To Adopt A Veterans Treatment Court System." Journal of Health
Care Law & Policy 16.2 (2013): 431-455. Legal Collection.

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