Henry County Veterans Treatment Court

Henry County's Veterans Treatment Court is a veterans court division under Code section 15-1-17; see the Georgia entry. The Board of Commissioners voted in April 2018 to support it, and it began on July 1, 2018. Superior Court Judge Pandora E. Palmer presides, with State Court Judge Ralph Bailey, Jr., an Army Reserve officer and a former mentor, as co-judge since January 2022; the contract provides for misdemeanour as well as felony cases. Its mission: "to provide alternatives to incarceration for Justice Involved Veterans as a result of their service-related Trauma, Mental Health or Substance Abuse problems". What the contract asks. A minimum of 20 months, or 12 for a participant without a dual diagnosis or with a single misdemeanour charge; court sessions, treatment and appointments; a sponsor or mentor throughout, and as many as five support meetings a week without one; no weapons; random drug screens; and $30 a week toward treatment. Probation fines and fees are deferred while in the programme. A participant who fails is returned to the sentencing court, and graduation depends on a final clean screen. How to apply. The defence attorney files a petition to enter the programme, with a waiver of trial rights and a guilty plea; a defendant charged with a disqualifying felony cannot enter. Henry's accountability court office is at 770-288-6223.