Montgomery County Veterans Treatment Court

The Montgomery County Veterans Treatment Court was established in 2012, with Fort Campbell next door, on the Buffalo model the Tennessee entry on veterans treatment courts describes. It is one of the six veterans courts the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services funds, and the county carries it in its own budget: $593,644 for fiscal 2026 besides the grant, and the Commission's October 2025 session took up a grant amendment adding a court administrator position. The court. Judge Ken R. Goble Jr. holds court every Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. in the Division I courtroom, Room 210, on the second floor of the Montgomery County Court Complex, and the sessions are open to the public. The office is at 121 S. Third Street, upper level, Clarksville, (931) 245-3180; David Smith is the director. A VA Veterans Justice Outreach specialist, a veteran mentor coordinator and the county Veterans Service Organization sit on the team. Who it takes. Veterans and soldiers who are still serving; an application must include a DD-214 (member 4 copy) or, for a serving soldier, a statement of service. Participants have substance use or mental health problems behind the charges. The defense attorney files the application with the warrants, the defendant attends an orientation on the first Monday of the month and completes an assessment, the District Attorney decides whether to make an offer, and the team votes on the applicant, usually on the last Tuesday of the month. Someone with an implied consent charge pleads to it on entry. What it asks. The court says plainly that it is a treatment programme, not a way out of charges. Every participant uses a remote alcohol monitor for at least the first 150 consecutive days, through phases I and II. There is no cost to join, though fines and court costs on the charges remain. At the end, depending on the case, the charges may be dismissed, nolled or reduced, and the referring attorney files any diversion or expungement papers. Transfers from neighbouring counties. Public Chapter 489 of 2025, signed May 21, 2025 and in force that day, lets a defendant move a criminal case to the veterans treatment court of a contiguous county with a federal census population between 220,000 and 220,100, which describes Montgomery County alone. The transfer needs three things: the Montgomery court must have had jurisdiction had the offense been committed there, the defendant must waive in writing a jury of the county where the offense occurred, and the Montgomery County District Attorney must agree. The Tennessee counties bordering Montgomery are Stewart, Houston, Dickson, Cheatham and Robertson.