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Veterans Court Bill Passes Senate Unanimously

WHEELING — A bill to re-establish veterans courts in West Virginia is moving forward in Charleston.

Senate Bill 40, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, unanimously passed the Senate on Wednesday.

The measure establishes a Military Service Members Court program within the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, with the Supreme Court’s administrator charged with overseeing the program.

Those eligible to participate in the Military Service Members Court would have to have served in the armed forces, and have been charged with a criminal offense that could be attributed to factors resulting from their time in the military — such as addiction or other mental-related disorders.

A similar program in the courts was abolished in 2017 by then Chief Justice Alan Loughry due to funding. Weld believed the past program did a lot of good in the Northern Panhandle.

“This bill is being done to right a wrong,” Weld said. “It used to be in place, and it served residents across the state. We’re trying to re-establish a program that was successful, and help vets re-establish themselves.”

The introduced version of SB 40 established timelines for implementation of the program, and specifically stated what types of officers should be on the court. Those directives were removed in committee.

“We didn’t want to constrict the courts,” Weld said. “I hate putting time frames on things… What happens if you don’t meet deadline through no fault of your own?

“So we removed those to give the courts some flexibility. I had a discussion with the Supreme Court about it, and the court has no intention of delaying this. The current court members support this. Everybody is looking to get it off the ground.”

Local veterans courts also would be given discretion in structuring the court, and deciding which professionals should be involved. The past version of the bill stipulated the court’s “team” include a judge or magistrate, and a mental hygiene commissioner or hearing officer. The prosecuting attorney was to be a participant, as would a public defender, probation officer, case coordinator and a treatment provider or peer recovery coach.

“We didn’t want any sort of issues occurring if the court was not able to adhere to the requirements and get somebody to fill every role — or if they thought they could help veterans better by structuring differently,” he said.

The offending veteran may be admitted into a court program only upon the agreement of the prosecutor. The military service member offender is excluded from the court program if he or she has been charged with violent or sexual-related crimes.

Upon successful completion of a court program, the judge shall dispose of the offender’s case. Disposition may include, but is not limited to, withholding criminal charges, dismissal of charges, probation, deferred sentencing, suspended sentencing, split sentencing, or a reduced period of incarceration.

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