Mansfield Municipal Court Veterans Court

Mansfield Municipal Court runs a Veterans Court specialized docket, certified by the Supreme Court of Ohio as a Substance Use - Veterans Treatment docket under Judge Michael J. Kemerer. The court's local rules say it was established on November 1, 2009 under the late Judge Jerry Ault, and the judges' page adds that its 2008 domestic violence and 2009 veterans dockets "were one of the first in the United States." Who can enter. A defendant who is a veteran or is currently serving in the United States military, is a Richland County resident, and is charged with a misdemeanor of the fourth, third, second or first degree - other degrees only with the Docket Judge's approval - and is amenable to treatment and enters voluntarily. Persons charged with sex crimes (other than public indecency) and minor misdemeanors may not be eligible, and the docket is not available with felony charges pending without the Docket Judge's approval. Application is assessed by defense counsel, the law director and/or a probation officer, then confirmed by diagnostic evaluation; all veterans are screened for PTSD. How it works. On acceptance the defendant pleads guilty and is sentenced, with sentence suspended subject to probation under a Veteran's Treatment Plan: individual and group counseling, substance abuse treatment if appropriate, and such of stable housing, reliable transportation, a high school credential or GED, vocational assessment, training and employment as the plan calls for. Unsuccessful termination returns the case to the referring judge's regular docket. On completing the plan the participant graduates and may be placed on non-reporting probation for one year. Referral and contact. Ask the judge, lawyer or probation officer, or the court at 419-755-9617. The rule incorporates a Program Description, Participant Handbook and Participation Agreement by reference, none of which is posted. The county's other courts. The Richland County Common Pleas Court certifies no veterans docket: Judges Phillip S. Naumoff and Brent N. Robinson certify substance use and reentry dockets (specialty dockets supervisor David Pittman, 419-774-4764). Shelby Municipal Court, also in Richland County, certifies a substance use docket only.