Cupcakes in the courtroom.
That was how County Judge T. Patterson Maney chose to honor the three latest graduates of the Veteran’s Court he was instrumental in founding.
Veteran’s Court is an “outcome-based” program dedicated to helping military men and women get back on the right side of the law while providing what it is hoped is necessary to keep them there.
William “Chief” Patterson, Katrina Rose and Michael Horlacher received graduation certificates Monday along with a handshake from Maney and the aforementioned cupcakes.
Perhaps most significantly, Assistant State Attorney Ginger Madden also informed each that charges they had faced would be dropped.
Horlacher, who has just retired from the Air Force, had been in the program just over a year when he received his walking papers.
“He’s done everything and more than we asked of him. We’re very proud of him,” Maney said in presenting the graduation certificate. “Thank you for your service to the nation and thanks for completing the program.”
Horlacher said he was “in a bad place” when he committed the crime that pulled him into the legal system.
He credited Carl Jett, the Veteran’s Court treatment coordinator, for introducing him to the program and helping guide him through it.
“He’s the guy who helped me get where I needed to be,” Horlacher said.
The motto of the Veteran’s Court is “return stability, rebuild relationships and reduce recidivism,” according to Jett. The program accepts retired veterans as well as active-duty personnel who have committed misdemeanor or felony offenses.
Once an individual is enrolled in the program, court officials look at the special needs of each.
For some, it could be drug and/or alcohol treatment or anger management training. Others might need therapy or help getting off the street or finding a job.
Maney, who as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserves suffered brain trauma in a bomb attack in Afghanistan, recalls the difficulty he had for a while doing the math required to balance a checkbook.
“This is an outcome-based program,” he said. “It takes a little time for these folks to understand, the biggest issue for us is getting the vet who is writing bad checks to a place where they don’t write bad checks.”
As of Monday, there are 26 people enrolled in Veteran’s Court. For the first time in the year-and-a-half it’s been up and running smoothly, clients from all four counties in Florida’s First Judicial Circuit are enrolled.
Nationwide, about 9 percent of the incarcerated population are veterans, Maney said. The Veteran’s Court actually diverts veterans from the county court system and puts them in treatment programs paid for through their service to the nation.
“It provides treatment at no direct cost to the county,” Maney said.
Rose, another Air Force veteran, was commended upon graduating with many of the same words Maney had used in speaking of Horlacher.
“It’s a relief,” she said a short time later, clutching her graduation certificate. “It’s a life changer.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.