The judges of the Ventura Superior Court are pleased to announce that on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 22, five (5) veterans will graduate from the Ventura County Veterans Intervention Court; a program that takes veteran participants with criminal convictions and places them on a specialized track of treatment, rather than incarceration. This is the Court’s third graduation ceremony. The Ventura County Veteran’s Treatment Court began hearing cases involving veterans of the United States Military as a pilot project in November 2010. In 2015 the court expanded to include the opportunity for diversion.
The Ventura Superior Court Veterans Intervention Program is a cooperative effort of the Ventura Superior Court, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the County of Ventura Offices of the District Attorney, Public Defender, Probation Agency and the Veterans Court Liaison to connect veterans to treatment services before they return to their community. Under California Penal Code 1170.9, the Ventura Veterans Intervention Court is a criminal court that provides veterans who face charges with the option to participate in treatment and services provided by the Veterans Administration that include mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, rehabilitation and other life skills. The court wishes to acknowledge the Martin V. & Martha K. Smith Foundation, Ventura County Community Foundation, and Gold Coast Veterans Foundation for their generous funding and support of this program.
The court is conducted under the direction of Judge Colleen Toy White, who spearheaded this program. Judge White stated, “Our success is not measured in statistics or numbers, it is measured in the lives that have been changed. We are honored to participate in this effort to provide these veterans with accountability and supervision to ensure they embrace treatment, but the real rewards, come from seeing families reunited and lives restored.”
The Ventura County Veterans Intervention Court is an ongoing program with hearings every Thursday at 2 p.m. in Courtroom 37 at the Ventura Superior Court. The ceremony in Department 22 is open to the public.
Categorized in: Legal Procedure
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