TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials in Kansas’ judicial system want to establish more special courts aimed at keeping veterans with behavioral, mental health or substance abuse issues out of prison.
But they are pursing the idea amid the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s own budget problems.
Johnson County established the state’s first veterans court in 2016, and it remains the only one in Kansas. District Judge Timothy McCarthy says at least 40 veterans have graduated from its programs and none have come back to the criminal justice system, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports.
