Any Georgia court with criminal jurisdiction may set up a veterans court division as an alternative to the ordinary process for a defendant who is a veteran, meaning any former member of the armed forces or a National Guard, with no discharge test. A few violent and sexual offences are barred; each court writes the rest of its own eligibility rules.
Also called: veterans court, veterans treatment court, accountability court, 15-1-17, criminal, National Guard.
Code section 15-1-17 lets any court with jurisdiction over criminal cases establish a veterans court division "to provide an alternative to the traditional judicial system" where the defendant is a veteran. For this section a veteran is "a person who is a former member of the armed forces of the United States or a state's National Guard". It sets no discharge, wartime or service-length test.
How a case gets there. If the defendant meets the division's eligibility criteria, the court may refer the case before sentence with the prosecutor's consent, as part of a sentence, or on a petition to revoke probation.
Who is excluded. A defendant charged with murder, armed robbery, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated child molestation or child molestation cannot enter, except a separate court-supervised reentry programme for veterans coming home from incarceration. Everything else is for each division's written work plan, drawn up by judges, prosecutors, the sheriff, public defenders, community supervision officers and veterans service experts, and combining judicial supervision, treatment and drug and mental health testing.
Standards. The Council of Accountability Court Judges of Georgia sets standards, certifies divisions and publishes an annual list of certified veterans court divisions by September 1; a division set up since July 1, 2017 needs certification or a waiver to receive State money.
Not every county has one. Where this catalog lists a county's veterans court, the county entry gives its own rules, phases and fees.
The text is FindLaw's copy of the Code, current to March 28, 2024, because the State's official free code on LexisNexis would not open on October 24, 2026; every act of 2024, 2025 and 2026 whose first reader names Title 15 was read, and none amends section 15-1-17.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Georgia Veterans Court Divisions
Gate
Rule
Former service member or Guard member with a criminal case
No discharge or rating test in the statute. The listed violent and sexual offences are barred, and each division sets the rest.
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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.