Hamilton County Veterans Treatment Courts

Both courts are certified specialized dockets of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Common Pleas Court. The Felony Veterans' Treatment Court, Judge Christopher A. Wagner, sits at the Hamilton County Courthouse, 1000 Main Street, Room 330 (program director Gary Yuratovac, 513-618-4215; coordinator Greg Street, 513-946-3371). A veteran charged with a third, fourth or fifth degree felony may enter with the prosecutor's consent and a guilty plea, at transfer of a new case before plea, after sentencing, on a probation violation or for sentence mitigation. Excluded are sex offences, offences using a weapon, a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity or incompetence, and persistent offending unrelated to trauma or mental illness; a history of serious or repeated violence is reviewed by the prosecutor and the team. The veteran needs a diagnosed PTSD, other trauma, mental health or substance use disorder that the programme can treat. There are five phases over more than a year, with a case manager, probation officer and peer mentor, and a participant on the diversion track may have the charge dismissed on completion. Municipal Court. Judge Brad Greenberg has led the Hamilton County Municipal Court's Veterans Treatment Court since January 2017. A veteran is referred after screening by pretrial services, probation, the defence, the prosecutor or a judge, signs a contract with the court, and follows a treatment plan built with the Cincinnati VA Medical Center and a team that includes peer mentors and a VA justice outreach officer. Neither court's page sets a discharge or combat requirement; the felony court asks only that the participant be a United States veteran. The county Veterans Service Commission also has a justice outreach coordinator who works with both.