Courts Taking a New Approach with Veterans

The New York Times wrote yesterday about veterans receiving lighter sentences as judges take their military service into consideration, particularly in light of service-related mental health conditions. The article also mentioned that several states have been seeing more veterans in courts, and in order to ensure that they receive the treatment they are due have been establishing special courts, akin to drug courts. These specialized courts have become increasingly popular over the past couple years. The Los Angeles Times wrote about them in March 2009, NPR had a featured story in April 2008, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette just covered a congressional field hearing held by Sen. Arlen Specter to examine the efficacy of these court programs in Pennsylvania.