Veterans Get a Court of Their Own in San Francisco
In her role as a San Francisco Superior Court judge at the Hall of Justice, Cynthia Ming-mei Lee often encounters military veterans in criminal cases.
You could tell by looking at them they were different, she said. They stood up straight, said ‘yes maam, no maam, and there was no street talk. This was a different animal.
So, when she became presiding judge of Superior Court a year ago, she helped create the once-a-week offshoot of the successful Community Justice Center near the Civic Center. The courts, which are voluntary, are collaborative, meaning they are a serious legal process combined with a pep rally. Those who participate, and meet requirements for counseling and drug testing, can have charges for nonviolent felonies reduced or dropped.
Last week, when participants appeared before Judge Braden Woods, one of the first orders of business was to check to see if they were in compliance, meaning they had successfully passed a weekly drug test. Woods notes their compliance, along with the length of time theyve been clean and sober.
We have full compliance for the last four months, Woods said to one man. Lets give him a hand.
Amid applause, more than one vet offered up a proud grin. Woods says when he began his one-year stint as head of the collaborative court, the veterans and the everyday Community Justice Center cases were mixed together.
I could tell the vets without even looking at the court calendar, he said. Just the way they moved and addressed me.
So it made sense, they thought, to break out the vets cases to once a week, a Wednesday afternoon vets-only court. Although they started small, and Lee and Woods admit they intentionally picked cases carefully to avoid the most serious kinds of felonies, the court just received a $350,000 federal grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The court will move to the Hall of Justice and, as Lee puts it take the lid off, to expand to a wide range of crimes, like drug use and domestic violence, that seem characteristic of those who have served on active duty.
2 Bronze Star veterans
The range of experience is remarkable. Woods says theyve had two vets in court who were awarded a Bronze Star for valor in a combat zone.
Still, the court is no panacea. Woods firmly lectured one man whose UA (urine analysis) showed drug use and asked what happened.
Did we praise you too much last time? Woods asked. I was surprised. You were two months in compliance.
I didnt know it was in my pocket, the man said. It popped out so I did it.
There was no applause this time. Woods assigned the man homework with his counselor, random drug testing and another court date. And hed better show up, Woods warned him, or there will be heck to pay.
Far more like it was a 17-year Navy veteran who was seven months clean. A burly redhead, he nodded when Woods noted that hed put on some weight.
Too much, he said sheepishly. Woods disagreed.
‘It was frightening
If you had seen him eight months ago, the judge said after court, he was fading away before our eyes. Look at him now and take off 75 pounds. It was frightening.
That man declined to be interviewed, but others were happy to discuss the court.
Russell Phay came out of the Army as a trained infantry combat soldier. He took specialized weapons training, expecting to go to Kuwait, but just as his unit was shipping out, his tour was up. He was out of the military.
I am fully trained for combat, he said. I have been trained to eliminate you. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true.
Phay had big problems when he got out. He and his wife had problems, and when she took their son to Colorado, he followed and threatened her. He ended up in prison, and after his term he came to San Francisco and ended up in Veterans Court.
Theyve recognized that I am salvageable, Phay said. I need treatment, and Ive gotten treatment. I feel like people here understand the brotherhood.
A major part of the program are the mentors, veterans themselves who often saw combat who sponsor the vets outside of court. They understand the unique stress of leaving a familiar, tightly controlled environment, where they thrived, to unstructured civilian life.
Francilla Carlton, who is a program mentor, says the change to civilian life was wrenching.
One of the best decisions of my life was joining the military. she said. One of the worst was getting out.
No criminal history
The majority of these guys had no criminal history before going in, said Ron Perez, a Vietnam vet who has been mentoring fellow service members since 1975. Bringing back the camaraderie of service really helps.
Roland Holmes, a Marine from 1972 to 1979, looked like a bit of a lost cause when he entered the court. A chronic drug and alcohol abuser, he was looking at a three-strikes sentence. And it wasnt for petty crimes. At different times he was booked for robbery, assault with a weapon and, he says, threatening to tear someones tongue out.
A lifelong pattern
I had a job running a forklift, he said. But Id take a drink and one led to another and eventually I couldnt work. Thats been the pattern my whole life.
Now hes been in compliance for months and is doing well in classes at Merritt College in Oakland.
But I am going to have to take algebra over, he told Woods. I hate algebra.
At the end of the first year the court has put 60 vets in its program (all men so far) and Lee says the expansion in January makes perfect sense.
I like to say if you want to see the best of the legal system, spend Wednesday afternoon in Veterans Court, she said.
Tags: Veterans News
