Frederica Freyberg:
With the return of the veterans of the 32nd, it is “incumbent on us to do all that we can to provide them with access to treatment necessary to fully return them to their families and civilian occupations with a decent chance for long-term recovery and return to normalcy.” So says our next guest, presiding judge in Rock County and in the state's first veterans court, Judge James Daley, himself a Vietnam veteran, joins us now from Janesville to tell us about the Rock County Veterans Diversion Court. Thanks very much for being here.

James Daley:
Thank you for inviting me.

Frederica Freyberg:
What is the aim of this veterans court?

James Daley:
The aim of the court is to early identify and treat veterans who come in contact with the criminal justice system with the underlying causes for their criminal conduct many times related to their service.

Frederica Freyberg:
Who is eligible?

James Daley:
Basically any — well, there's two groups. Anyone who — veteran who served in the military services and served in a combat zone. And a second group are any woman in the military services who has experienced sexual abuse. Those two are — basic groups are the ones who qualify for veterans services.

Frederica Freyberg:
Who's not eligible?

James Daley:
Such as reservists who have not served in a combat zone or active duty, many times who have not served in a combat zone.  

Frederica Freyberg:
Are there certain crimes that people could be charged with that would make them ineligible for this type of diversion?  

James Daley:
That's completely up to the district attorney for the county or the county where the crime occurred. To get access to the court, the district attorney must first agree that the veteran and the crime committed are appropriate for the veterans court. And, second, the veteran and his attorney have to agree and sign a contract entering into the treatment court.

Frederica Freyberg:
What's an example of a crime that might be appropriate for this kind of court?  

James Daley:
Well, veterans who come back from combat, the first people they come in contact with and who they sometimes have problems with are their very families. We have domestic abuse offenses. We have disorderly conduct, crimes relating to substance abuse because many times that's a collateral effect of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. There can be just about anything. But the district attorney ultimately has the right to decide — it's his decision whether or not the charge is maybe too severe to be put into veterans court and deserves handling through normal court proceedings.

Frederica Freyberg:
You touched on it briefly talking about post-traumatic stress and brain injury, but why do combat veterans need these kinds of special services by way of diversion and then treatment, which is the point of the court?  

James Daley:
Well, many times the veterans’ service puts them in contact with either roadside bombs or puts them in situations which causes post-traumatic stress. Those two conditions have certain emotional results. Many times accompanied by self-medication through either alcohol or some other drug. I think it's incumbent upon us as citizens who have put these volunteers who are serving us and our country in harm's way and they voluntarily have gone there and served us and who come back, who serve, who have negative effects from that service, I think they should be given an opportunity to work their way out of the problem, or at least to minimize the effects of those problems. It is not a — veterans court is not a “get out of jail free” card. It requires the veteran to validly treat and to successfully complete treatment at — that treatment based upon the initial screening done by the veterans administration, which identifies the needs, and in the case of post-traumatic stress disorders, as I indicated, and traumatic brain injury, many times you have mental health issues and AODA issues. They have to be dealt with concurrently. And the veterans administration has developed over the last 50 to 75 years a really effective program to do that. To the citizens of the community, that means early identification and treatment will prevent future problems and future crimes being committed. It's the down the road which is the real benefit to our society. It's also a benefit to the veteran's family. And we've learned from Vietnam that in fact people who have delayed treatment, there's a really direct proportional relationship to the amount of time which passes with the syndrome being not treated, with the length it takes to actually treat them to get them back to where they can live their lives as a normal human being.

Frederica Freyberg:
Judge Daley, we need to leave it there, but we'd like to come and visit your veterans court. Thanks very much for your time on this.

James Daley:
Thanks very much.