Davidson County's Veterans Treatment Court, presided over by General Sessions Judge Melissa Blackburn, meets Mondays at 1 p.m. in the Justice A. A. Birch Building. Veterans with mental health or substance use problems take part as a condition of probation or a diversion, with evaluation, treatment and client specialists. Call (615) 862-8320.
Also called: veterans treatment court, veterans court, VTC, General Sessions, Melissa Blackburn, A. A. Birch Building, diversion, probation, 16-6-101, Nashville, Metro Nashville, Metropolitan Government, Nashville-Davidson.
The Davidson County Veterans Treatment Court is a specialty court of the Metropolitan General Sessions Court, begun with a 2014 federal implementation grant through the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and carried since fiscal 2017 in part by state veterans court funding; it is one of the six veterans courts that funding reaches. It follows the model in the Tennessee entry on veterans treatment courts.
The court. Judge Melissa Blackburn of General Sessions Division II presides. The docket sits every Monday at 1 p.m. in Courtroom 3B of the Justice A. A. Birch Building, 408 2nd Avenue North. The office is at 100 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 100, Nashville, TN 37219, (615) 862-8320; Mark Winslow is the programme director.
How it works. Veterans agree to take part as a condition of probation or of a diversion programme on their criminal charges. The court offers mental health evaluation, help with alcohol and substance use, and supervision by client specialists assigned to each participant's needs, working with Metro and state agencies, mental health providers and veterans organisations. The court reported that 92 percent of its fiscal 2019 graduates did not re-offend.
The court's page publishes no list of eligible or excluded charges and no discharge test; ask the office or a defense attorney. In October 2025 the Metropolitan Council approved an amendment to the court's federal Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court grant (RS2025-1557) to start a DUI court in General Sessions.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Davidson County Veterans Treatment Court
Gate
Rule
A veteran facing charges, on probation or diversion terms
Participation is a condition of probation or a diversion programme. The court's page publishes no rating, discharge or charge test.
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.