North Texas Regional Veterans Treatment Court (Kaufman, Rockwall, Grayson and Fannin cases)

Texas counties may run veterans treatment courts under Government Code chapter 124; see the Texas entry. Kaufman, Rockwall, Grayson and Fannin Counties have none of their own on the Office of Court Administration's registry; their cases go to the North Texas Regional Veterans Treatment Court, which the registry of October 1, 2026 lists for "Collin, Fannin, Grayson, Kaufman &" Rockwall, under Judge John R. Roach, Jr. of Collin County's 296th District Court, with Amanda Marie Garcia as coordinator. Who. The court's own eligibility list: a "Criminal case/charge pending in either Collin, Rockwall, Grayson, Kaufman or Fannin County"; a "Veteran or current member of the U.S. Armed Forces, including a member of the Reserves, National Guard, or State Guard"; a "Connection between military service and current offense; issues resulting from military service materially affected the criminal conduct at issue in the case"; and "Did NOT receive a Dishonorable Discharge from military service." How it works. Referrals come from police, jail staff, judges, lawyers, prosecutors, family and clinicians. The programme manager checks the criteria and sends the application to the District Attorney of the county where the case is for initial approval; the treatment team then interviews the veteran and decides. If accepted, the veteran pleads before Judge Roach and the case transfers from the court of origin. The programme runs 12 to 24 months in phases, with a probation officer, a case manager and monthly compliance hearings. "Upon successful completion of the program, the case(s) are dismissed (if allowed by law)"; if the agreement ends, the case goes back to the court it came from. In Fannin County. Fannin County's Veterans Service Officer, Paul Chandler, listed the court ("Vet Court") among the office's two active collaborations in his 2025 End-of-Year Summary, with a memorandum of understanding in place, and told the Commissioners Court on January 6, 2026 that it "meets here once a month, right here" in Bonham. On September 17, 2024 the Court, at Chandler's request, added "Fannin County Veterans Treatment Court" to the District Clerk's juror pay sheet as a donation choice under Government Code 61.003, so a Fannin juror can give the day's pay to it; the county's FY2027 budget carries a Veterans Court Program fund (fund 800) with $1,500 of program fees budgeted for court expenses, and $404 in jury donations and $2,521 in program fees received in FY2026. Contact. Amanda Garcia, Program Manager, [email protected]. The court's application form is on Collin County's 296th District Court programs page. A Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans' Assistance grant supports it.