A new city court offers help to veterans

Ronald Williams stood in a Philadelphia courtroom yesterday, nervously waiting to hear what Municipal Judge Patrick F. Dugan had to say.

But Dugan's question had nothing to do with the misdemeanor assault charge on which Williams, 57, was being arraigned. The judge wanted to know his service record.

The Army, Williams replied, from 1970 to 1973. Vietnam. Radio man with the 101st Airborne.

"Sorry to hear about that - 82d Airborne," Dugan shot back, followed by a few laughs from an audience that got the inside joke about the rivalry between the Army divisions.

"Well, welcome home. I appreciate your service," Dugan added.

Such an exchange between judge and criminal defendant occurred again and again as Philadelphia's Veterans Court formally opened.

The crimes of the 12 to 15 veterans who appeared before Dugan were no different from the misdemeanors - public drunkenness, driving under the influence, marital disputes that got out of hand - that are the daily grist of the justice mill.

Veterans Court, however, is designed to intervene in the lives of veterans whose experiences may be leading them into lives of crime.

In the front of the courtroom, the U.S. and Pennsylvania flags are supplemented by those of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. In addition to prosecutor and public defender, there is a representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs to question defendants about their service and whether they qualify - or even know about - available benefits.

And, finally, there is Dugan, 49, an Army Reserve captain who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"They have the VA here? This is a good court," said Albert L. El, 68, senior vice commander of Philadelphia's chapter of the Disabled American Veterans stationed at the VA Medical Center in University City.

El said the VA's presence was crucial because many vets who get into trouble don't know about medical and mental health benefits available to them.

The Veterans Court is the third in Pennsylvania since last year - Pittsburgh and Scranton have programs - and there are 17 nationwide.

Participation is voluntary, but those who take part and succeed can get lesser sentences or have charges dropped.

For those who don't, the criminal justice system is always waiting. Dugan yesterday promptly issued an arrest warrant for one man who failed to appear.

Earlier yesterday, a ceremony inaugurating the court drew such veterans as state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, a Marine veteran who lost a leg in Vietnam, and Associate Justice Seamus P. McCaffery, a veteran of 40 years in the Marine Corps and Air Force Reserve.

"Those of us who served in uniform have an expression we like to use: Leave no one behind. Now it seems society is getting that," Dugan said.

Like other city "treatment courts," such as the Mental Health Court started last year and the Community Court, the Veterans Court focuses on getting necessary help for drug, alcohol or emotional problems - often the cause of the misdemeanor and a lifestyle leading to more serious crimes.

Veterans, for example, have long been known to be a significant part of the homeless population: 23 percent of all homeless and a third of homeless men, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.

Veterans accepted into the program will receive referrals to Veterans Affairs for medical or mental health care and will be matched with a volunteer veteran mentor to help them resolve their criminal cases and find a place in the civilian world.

Dugan said he hoped graduates of the court would form the heart of a corps of mentors.

Dugan's hope was realized in court yesterday.

Raymond M. Deering, 66, of Media, is an Army veteran who traced his drinking to service in Korea in the late 1960s.

"I lost my soul there," Deering said, adding that he began drinking again last year after he lost his job as a bank trust officer.

Deering, in an immaculate gray business suit with an Army Ranger lapel pin, stood at parade rest, hands clasped behind his back, as Dugan approved him for the program.

Deering then returned to a seat and watched as the next defendant, Christopher Shovlin, 28, an Army veteran returned from Iraq, appeared before Dugan.

As Shovlin began to leave, Deering stood up and quickly walked across the courtroom, and put his arm on Shovlin's shoulder.

Shovlin startled and stiffened as Deering offered him a card and urged him to call and talk: "I know what's going on in your head. I've been there."