http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/karen_heller/20100526_Karen_Heller__Veterans_Court_winning_cases.html#axzz0pFusifRR
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From: LARRY HOLMAN via Ney, Gerald A CIV []
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 3:14 PM
To: VVA-Talklist
Subject: FW: Veterans Court winning cases
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/karen_heller/20100526_Karen_Heller__Veterans_Court_winning_cases.html#axzz0pFusifRR
Posted on Wed, May. 26, 2010
Karen Heller: Veterans Court winning cases
By Karen Heller
Inquirer Columnist
Today is Veterans Day at the Criminal Justice Center. So is every
Wednesday, when it's time for Veterans Court, the Hon. and U.S. Army
Reserve Capt. Patrick F. Dugan presiding.
Established in March by state Supreme Court Justices Ronald D. Castille
and Seamus P. McCaffery, both decorated veterans, the court is one of
three in the state, and almost 20 nationwide, exclusively handling
veterans' misdemeanor cases.
It's already a success, a "problem-solving" court, like drug court and
mental health court, designed to expedite assistance and avoid costly
legal delays and jail time. Defendants range from age 20 (Iraq) to 80
(Korea), but the cases are remarkably sad and similar - virtually all
male, charged with driving under the influence, disorderly conduct,
possession, spousal abuse.
"A vast majority of the defendants are involved with drugs and alcohol,"
Dugan says. They need treatment and attention.
"I finished the ninth grade," says an Army veteran, picked up for
possession. He looks as if his best years are decades behind him.
"I believe you attended the University of Vietnam," says Dugan, who
speaks respectfully to all veterans. "You need to clean up. You've been
there. You've seen some crazy stuff in your life. This is illegal.
You've been through too much to go through that. So step up."
Normally, the wheels of justice grind slow. That is not the case in
Veterans Court, where 25 cases are adjudicated in two hours.
"In most courtrooms, it takes a long time to get a diversion program to
kick in because of the sheer size of the bureaucracies," says Dugan, a
former infantryman and paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne, who later
served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He may also be, quite possibly,
the only judicial candidate who ran partially on an "I hate the Dallas
Cowboys" platform.
"It can take six months for a diversion program to kick in," he says.
"Here, it's almost instantly. Some veterans start the program before
I've heard the case."
This is thanks, in large part, to the work of Rebecca Hicks of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, who works in Courtroom 1003 Wednesdays
along with Kelley Hodge of the District Attorney's Office, public
defender Brunilda Vargas, and a trio of proud, elegant veteran mentors
sitting in the front bench, waiting to help.
"She's outstanding. I can't commend Rebecca enough for the job she's
doing," Dugan says of the soft-spoken social worker. "She goes to prison
to meet with these people. We're blessed to have her in the room."
Veterans represent a tenth of the jail population, according to the VA,
the majority charged with nonviolent offenses. All legal and government
entities present in the courtroom share the same goals: to get these men
help before they seriously hurt others, while keeping them out of jail.
Veterans Court is also there to help defendants from slipping further
and becoming homeless. A third of all men on the street are believed to
have served in the military, according to the National Coalition for
Homeless Veterans.
"The majority of our veterans are really grateful," says Hicks. The
Philadelphia office assists 60,000 veterans annually, a third of them
for behavioral health issues, and drug and alcohol abuse. "We're trying
to turn a negative set of circumstances into a positive, life-changing
experience. I see the veterans as quickly as I can after their first
hearing. Sometimes, the very next day." After each case, Hicks beckons
the veteran to her table and in her old-fashioned daybook schedules an
assessment appointment.
"Obviously, we're in favor of any program that aids our clients," says
Assistant Public Defender Charles Cunningham. "We certainly think people
who have served our country are entitled to some special consideration.
Sometimes the reason they're in this position is because of service to
this country."
Veterans Court is able "to provide therapeutic assistance while reducing
the risk of recidivism," says Hodge, who is chief of the district
attorney's Municipal Court unit. "How an individual does with treatment
dictates whether he 'graduates' out of the system. What benefit is it to
us if he goes into jail and serves his time but is never treated for
alcoholism?"
One Navy veteran, 54, returns to court after his third DUI offense and
detox treatment at the VA's Coatesville facility. "I've been in trouble
with alcohol all my life. You've saved my life," he tells the court, the
public defender requesting that his name not be published. "My life was
going right down the drain. You're giving me the tools to get my life
back. Hospitalization is the best thing that could happen to me."
Dugan addresses three defendants, all charged with DUI. "This is like
shooting a gun into a crowd. I've read your files and, between you guys,
the places you saw, the things that you've done, the ribbons you have,
you've done so much," he says.
"You guys are the good guys. I expect more of you," Dugan says. "So
don't be coming back into my courtroom because I'll hold you to a higher
standard. And I will hammer you. And you would expect that of me."
All three defendants stand at military attention, nodding their heads in
unison.
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Contact columnist Karen Heller at 215-854-2586 or
kheller@phillynews.com.
Karen Heller: Veterans Court winning cases
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sounds like a good program hopefully a few bad apples won't mess it up for all of the men and women who will also need a little help along their way to adjust to "home life again" some people do not understand sometimes veterans just need a friendly kick in the azz to remind them of who and what they were and can be again. All they need is a chance
Friday, May 28, 2010
Karen Heller: Veterans Court winning cases
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
War Veteran Says Military Burn Pits Caused His Cancer
War Veteran Says Military Burn Pits Caused His Cancer
Posted: May 17, 2010 12:27 AM EDT
Yuma, AZ May 16 - Iraqi war veterans know the risks associated with combat, but one local soldier never thought he would be put at risk for cancer.
He says government contractors are to blame. He thought Al-Qaeda and the Taliban were deadly but it turned out, that was the least of his worries.
Burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, hundreds are speaking out saying they're sick because of toxins in the air from what's getting burned.
Yuma resident Rigo Gonzalez says, "I brought these tents, large all purpose tents that are petroleum base and when you burn these tents, they release a toxin called benzene."
Benzene is a probable cause for the type of leukemia Rigo Gonzalez has been diagnosed with. And he's not the only American hero with these problems.
"The symptoms were exactly the same as mine: leukemia's, cancers, respiratory problems, all kinds of symptoms and diseases that these burn pits were causing."
And now there's a class action lawsuit against KBR, the government contractor in charge of the burn pits.
Gonzalez says, "when you take shortcuts and you don't take into consideration safety and human life, then you have to be held accountable for it."
Hundreds are involved in the lawsuit and Gonzalez says the number is growing everyday. He says concern over the burn pits was never a consideration.
"Your main concern is just to survive that day. You think it'd be things related to the enemy, but when it comes from people that supposedly are on your side, it's hard to take."
Gonzalez says a physical saved his life and he's encouraging all war veterans to protect themselves.
"You need a thorough physical with blood work and everything and I stress that for people coming back from combat in Iraq or Afghanistan."
KBR denies the allegations they are being negligent. On June 4th, a judge will rule whether the case will go to trial. Until then, hundreds of people like Gonzalez and several widows and their families wait.
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I sympathize with this veterans and the tens of thousands others that have been exposed to these toxic materials due to the burn pits since the war began, but I fear as other military contractors of the past have been protected by the DOD and the federal courts as the work the companies were doing were under the rules established by the DOD and that the Feres Doctrine will prevent these injured soldiers, marines and air men and any other military personnel harmed by the toxic environment. KBR will claim they were doing what the military asked them to do, the governemnt supplied them with the JP4 that was used as the accelerants to make everything burn, and that KBR itself is not responsible for what the Generals were asking them to do. Just as DOW and other makers of Agent Orange escaped large financial liability, I forsee KBR escaping financial harm in this case.
I am sorry for feeling this way, and I wish all of the sick veterans a vetter outcome but like the Agent Orange victims the only real financial liability will come from the Veterans Adminsitration for what can be proved as medical problems caused by exposures to the toxic substances, I will give the government credit that this is the first time in history that the VA has recognized the issues emanating from the toxic fumes of the burn pits while the wars are still being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan where the burn pits are still in use in some places. Normally the government will fight for 10-40 years before admitiing any type of liability thru the VA, so in that aspect these veterans are better off than veterans of past wars, look at the veterans of Gulf War One they still have not "found" the cause of the 25% disability rates of that era's veterans.
I wish these veterans well in court but I will not be shocked when the court system rules in favor of the contractor.
