Florida Veterans Treatment Court Programs

Section 394.47891 of the Florida Statutes encourages a veterans treatment court in every judicial circuit and lets any court with jurisdiction over criminal cases create one, for misdemeanors and felonies, with admission at any stage of the case. Who can take part. A "veteran" is anyone who has served in the military, and a "servicemember" includes a member of the active or reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force or Coast Guard, a member of the Florida National Guard, a current or former Defense Department contractor, and a current or former military member of an allied country. The defendant must have a service-related mental health condition, traumatic brain injury, substance use disorder or psychological problem, or have experienced military sexual trauma, and the court, with its team, must find participation in the interest of justice, weighing the offense, any victim's view, criminal history and prior programmes, available treatment, community impact, law enforcement and state attorney recommendations, restitution, and mitigation. Discharge. The statute sets no discharge test. The chief judge and the state attorney of the circuit have exclusive authority to decide whether a dishonorably discharged veteran may take part there. Limits. The section creates no right to participate. Records from screening and treatment are confidential and exempt from public records law. Each programme must record its own policies and report data to the Office of the State Courts Administrator. Recent change. The section was amended in 2026 by chapters 2026-128 and 2026-139. Under section 7 of chapter 2026-139, its amendments apply at once to programmes funded by the state courts' problem-solving court appropriation and to every other programme from July 1, 2027.