In a recent, and very encouraging development, the city of Phoenix municipal court has started a Veteran's Court program. That is a program that is available only to veterans. To qualify, one must have served in United States military. It does not matter if the service was in the reserves or active duty, the type of discharge does not matter, combat duty is not required, and to qualify no deployment is required.
In other words, so long as anyone was in the military and received any sort of discharge, presumably even other than honorable or even dishonorable discharge, they are qualified for Veteran's Court. So what is the benefit of Veteran's Court?
In the context of a DUI case, a veteran who is facing DUI charges can have the charges reduced to the minimum 28-1381(A)(1) regardless of the blood alcohol content alleged. For example, even if someone is facing a super-extreme DUI charge, which means a minimum sentence of 45 days in jail, that veteran can have the charge reduced to the minimum DUI charge. Even better, even though there is a statutory requirement for at least one day in jail for even a first time DUI conviction, that veteran can avoid jail completely so long as he is compliant with all court ordered treatment.
For example, imagine a non-veteran convicted in the city of Phoenix with a BAC above .20. He would have to do 45 days in jail, which usually means 9 days in the county jail and another 5 days home arrest. But a veteran would not any jail time so long as he complied with the treatment the court ordered. Keep in mind, however, that treatment could be onerous in its own right: it could very well include inpatient treatment for months.
The idea behind Veteran's Court is that our veterans should not suffer criminal sentences as a result of their service. And while the category of "veteran" may seem broad, it is better to make the net wide and include as many veterans as possible.
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