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It has been two years since former Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons signed Veterans Court into law, we need your support
Clark County Nevada, we talk about our returning veterans, but most of us do nothing, most of us make no real difference. We give them awards, we bury them, we say good job, and we have a parades for them, some of us even make money off of them, but in the long run what have we really done for our returning veterans. In 2009 a number of veterans went to Carson City or the Grant Sawyer building to testify on the desperate need for a Veterans Court within the state of Nevada to our legislators. This was spear headed by Family District Court Judge Jennifer Elliot and former Speaker of the Nevada Assembly Barbra Buckley. This Assembly Bill known as (AB187) passed both the Nevada Assembly and Nevada State Senate unanimously and in July 2009 it was signed into law by former Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons and it is now known as Nevada Revised Statue 176. This law is supposed to help our returning veterans from the combat zone, find treatment instead of incarceration if they end up in front of a judge. Right now there are about 41 Veterans Court across the country. Veterans In Politics International (VIPI) was wondering why after two years Veterans Court have not been in existence in Clark County, Nevada. A few months ago Veterans In Politics meet with a few judges to discuss Veterans Court and no one knew what Veterans Court was. Veterans In Politics then entered into a campaign to find out and educate our judges and elected leaders on Veterans Court. We first meet with Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak to find out why the county was not funding Veterans Court. After reading NRS 176 it states that Veterans Court is optional. Veterans Court is optional, but when our military is sent off to war that’s not “optional”. Commissioner Sisolak suggested that each judge set a time during the week and handles veterans that are before them or transfer all veterans to one judge and that judge transfers there none veteran defendants, a trade off. Commissioner Sisolak stated that the veteran are in the system anyway, so it really should not allocate any additional funds. Veterans In Politics meet with Justice of the Peace (JP) Melanie Tobiasson and Justice of the Peace William Kephart in an effort to bring Veterans Court into the Justice of the Peace jurisdiction. We found out that Judge Tobiasson is in charge of Veterans Court within the jurisdiction of the JP, but made it optional for the judges to send the veterans to her courtroom. Veterans In Politics also meet with Las Vegas Municipal Judge Martin Hastings regarding Veterans Court. Judge Hastings is now conducting Veterans Court within his court room. Judge Hastings now has a sign in his court room asking military veterans to check in with his Marshall. Veterans In Politics meet with District Court Judge David Barker and found out that Veterans Court only applies to non violent offenders and only to members of the military that served in combat. In addition all judges “shall” ask every defendant if they are a “military veteran”, for the past two years no judges within Clark County have asked any defendant if they are a military veteran. We suggested that the intake forms have a question asking defendants if they are a military veteran. Veterans In Politics contacted both Nevada Assemblyman and Chair of the Judiciary Committee William Horne and Nevada State Senator Valerie Wiener to amend NRS 176 Veterans Court to have Veterans Court for none combat veterans as well as combat veterans and misdemeanor violent offenses as well as none violent misdemeanor offenses. The amendment was voted down and Nevada Assemblyman Scott Hammond was to rewrite the amendment, the session is out and we still have not received a verdict. Veterans In Politics send an email blast to every Judge, City Council, District Attorney, Public Defender, and County Commissioner within the state of Nevada encouraging them to make Veterans Court a priority and educating them on the existing law, 400 emails in all was sent. Veterans In Politics received feedback from Churchill County and Washoe County Court Administrators indicating that Veterans Court is alive and well within their jurisdiction. After speaking with Sheila Leslie Washoe County Specialty Court she explained that Senior District Judge’s Peter Breen and Archie Blake have been rotating their Veterans Court calendar to meet the need of veterans that come before them. They receive grant money from AB29 through the Nevada Supreme Court to pave the way for their Veterans Court. Washoe County is incredibly small in comparison to Clark County meaning they have an incredibly small budget and they have stepped up to the plate, found money and established their Veterans Court for the past two years. Veterans In Politics meet with Matthew Zoccole Clark County Court Administrator and Steve Roll Clark County Specialty Court to find out where Veterans Court is within Clark County we then requested a need to speak to the District Court Judges regarding this issue. Veterans In Politics was granted 15 minutes on the Criminal District Court Calendar in attendance was District Court Judges Valorie Vega, Douglas Herndon, Jackie Glass, Elisha Cadish, Linda Bell, Douglas Smith, Jennifer Togliatti, Elizabeth Gonzalez, Abbi Silver, David Barker, Stefany Miley, and James Bixler. Deputy District Attorney was present and Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn. Veterans In Politics members participated and encourage the need to have an active Veterans Court within Clark County. Indicating that Clark County has the largest veteran population within the state of Nevada with the highest average per population in the country, Veterans In Politics pleaded with the jurist stating that just because a veteran returns home in one piece does not mean they don’t have some type of issue. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has plagued many veterans, indicating that the military has trained veterans to be extremely aggressive and it’s hard to turn it off, and aggression is how our men and women win wars. David Rivers a former Marine, Attorney, and Judicial Council for Veterans In Politics was present along with Heidi Hanusa none veteran, but a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) express her concerns on returning veterans that suffer from mental illness. Hanusa indicated that alcohol, drugs, anger, and sometimes sex is used to suppress the memories of combat and a lot of none violent crime offenders could easily cross over to violent crime offenders if preventive maintenance is not used. Veterans Court is to be used as a preventive maintenance measure and it will save the County a lot of money in the long run. Veterans In Politics need your help to make sure that a Veterans Court is establish in very municipality in our State and community to ensure that our returning military veterans receives treatment instead of incarceration. Let’s welcome our service member’s home with some gratitude, we trained them to be the way they are and it’s up to all of us to un-program them so they can be a productive member of society when they come home. We will leave you with this You Tube video; Cheryl DeBow Reads Letter to the Ohio Supreme Court Requesting a Court for Veterans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucR41B62H-M&feature=share |
