This Chicago Criminal attorney has posted here about the special needs of Service Men and Women in our criminal courts.
Governor Quinn signs a new law aimed at helping our Service Men and Women in criminal courts.
From chicagobreakingnews.com:
In Chicago on Saturday, Quinn signed the Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act. Quinn's office says the law will let Illinois counties create judicial courts for veterans with mental health or substance abuse disorders.
From HB5214:
The General Assembly recognizes that veterans and active, Reserve and National Guard servicemembers have provided or are currently providing an invaluable service to our country. In so doing, some may suffer the effects of, including but not limited to, post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression and may also suffer drug and alcohol dependency or addiction and co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse problems. As a result of this, some veterans or active duty servicemembers come into contact with the criminal justice system and are charged with felony or misdemeanor offenses. There is a critical need for the criminal justice system to recognize these veterans, provide accountability for their wrongdoing, provide for the safety of the public and provide for the treatment of our veterans. It is the intent of the General Assembly to create specialized veteran and servicemember courts or programs with the necessary flexibility to meet the specialized problems faced by these veteran and servicemember defendants.
Let’s hope this law is sufficiently funded. Happy Early Flag Day!
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