– Photos by John Meiu
(Left Photo) Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mark S. Switalski was one of the speakers at the Legal Aid and Defender Association’s Veteras Legal fair held recently at John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit. During his address, Switalski described the work of Macomb County Veterans' Treatment Court .
(Right Photo) Joining Switalski (third from left) at the Detroit event were (left to right): David Perkins, referee of Wayne County Circuit Court; Tracy Golliday-Champagne, Veterans Justice Outreach coordinator; Nanette Colling, Veterans Justice Outreach coordinator; Will A. Gunn, general counsel of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Michigan Congressman John Conyers; Joan Glanton Howard, chief counsel of Legal Aid and Defender Association's Civil Law Group; and Regina Thomas, deputy chief counsel-broad based advocacy of Legal Aid and Defender Association's Civil Law Group.
Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mark S. Switalski described the work of Macomb County Veterans’ Treatment Court (MCVTC) during the opening ceremony of Legal Aid and Defender Association's Veterans Legal Fair in Detroit.
The first veterans' treatment court in the United States was held in Buffalo, N.Y. in 2008, according to Will A. Gunn, general counsel of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who delivered the keynote address at the Veterans Legal Fair.
MCVTC held its first scheduled court session on April 12, 2012 in 41B District Court in Clinton Township. Switalski held his first circuit court session on April 19, 2012 in Mount Clemens and currently holds sessions there every Thursday.
“Why veterans’ treatment?” he asked rhetorically. “Veterans have earned it, they’re assets.”
The veterans court also is different from other dockets, Switalski said. For example, MCVTC has had greater success with veterans who are heroin addicts than the regular circuit court docket has had with other addicts, he said.
“The target population should be high risk, with something to lose,” Switalski said. “Veterans support each other if given the chance”
The court “has given me a new perspective after 25 years on the bench,” Switalski said. “The court is effective; it works.’
The Legal Fair at which Switalski spoke was held for veterans of U.S. armed forces at the John Dingell VA Medical Center.
During the ceremony, Gunn noted that the VA’s top priorities are eliminating the backlog of disability claims by veterans and homess among veterans by 2015.
Gunn is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who served as a military lawyer in the Air Force's Judge Advocate General Corps. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Harvard Law School.
“It’s important for organizations like Legal Aid and Defender to provide services for veterans at risk," Gunn told the audience composed of veterans, representatives of veterans organizations and members of the staffs of the VA Medical Center and LAD.
He said the three of the top issues facing the VA are legal issues: evictions and foreclosures, outstanding fines and warrants ,and child support.
Following the opening ceremony, LAD attorneys conducted workshops on child support; driver’s responsibility, including traffic tickets; expungement of criminal records; and Social Security (SSI and SSDI) and VA benefits claims.
Following the ceremony, officials held a case intake session. LAD staff attorneys and coordinators of the VA Medical Center's Veterans Justice Outreach program dealt with matters such as landlord/tenant relations, mortgage foreclosures, Social Security, Medicaid, VA benefit claims, food stamp screening, child support and other family law matters as well as debt collection and other consumer issuess.
Another case intake session was scheduled today regarding expungement of criminal records.
“We see the provision of legal services to veterans as an opportunity to serve those who have given so much in the service of our country,” said Regina Daniels Thomas, deputy chief counsel-broad based advocacy of LAD's Civil Law Group.
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