Special court convenes for US veterans

The first clue that the Tuesday afternoon session in Part 4 of Buffalo City Court is not like other criminal proceedings comes just before it starts.  Judge Robert Russell steps down from his bench and from the aloofness of his black robe. He walks into the gallery where men and women accused of stealing, drug offenses and other non-violent felonies and misdemeanors fidget in plastic chairs.   "Good afternoon," he says, smiling, and talks for a minute about the session ahead.

With the welcoming tone set, Russell heads back behind the bench, where he will mete out justice with a disarming mix of small talk and life-altering advice. While the defendants in this court have been arrested on charges that could mean potential prison time and damaging criminal records, they have another important trait in common: All have served their country in the military.

jet mechanic four years into what he thought would be a 20-year Navy career, he severely injured his leg on the flight deck of the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2004 and was discharged.

Forced to rethink his future before his 22nd birthday, he returned to Buffalo, where he found work as a laborer and in the concrete business before starting his own concrete company. After taking on more work than he could handle, Lewis said he found himself charged with petit larceny in December for keeping a $3,000 deposit from a customer for a job that never got done. A daily habit of prescription pain pills for the plates and pins in his leg compounded the problems of someone who had known only the rigidity of the military from the time he was 18.

"It was hard to adjust," Lewis said later at his home in Buffalo’s north end. "I was used to that structure. That whole time (in the Navy) I was doing what I was supposed to do, then I got out and it was just not working."

Admittedly stubborn — he walked out of counseling because he got tired of hearing people complain — the 25-year-old father of four is only now addressing anxiety and attention disorders linked to his wartime service and the toll it took on his leg and hearing. A 30-day stay in rehab to get off prescription drugs began his path through veterans treatment court.

"I’m doing really good now," he said.

Russell believes the need for courts like his will only grow, pointing to the 1.6 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been highly praised by the VA and other veterans organizations.

"What I appreciate about this is this isn’t letting people off for what they do, it’s just getting them the care that they need," said Patrick Campbell, legislative director for Iraq Veterans of America.

The group has been working with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry on legislation that would provide grants for the creation of veterans treatment courts like the one in Buffalo.

"A lot of veterans, when they come home, find the transition difficult and we all turn to different things to get through those times," said Campbell, who served in Iraq in 2004-05. "If we’re not lucky enough to have a strong family social network to hold us together in those difficult times, people turn to drugs, turn to alcohol.

"All of a sudden they find themselves in a position where, instead of being the outstanding patriot who’s always been the person everyone looks to, they find themselves on the other end of the law," Campbell said. "This is going to get service members back to serving their country again."

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