Contact:  Ed "Flash" Ferenc, Public Information Officer
              Cleveland Municipal Court                   
              216-664-6787   216-857-7420
              ference@cmcoh.org


(Cleveland) –The Veterans Treatment Docket, a specialized program created by the Cleveland Municipal Court in 2011 (www.cmcoh.org) held its second graduation ceremony on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, 2013.

“We wanted to make a statement and what better day than Veterans Day to hold court for people who served our country, made a mistake or two and then turned their lives around,” said Judge Charles L. Patton Jr., who has presided over the docket since 2012.

The day began at 9:00 a.m. with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Public Square.  Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Jackson, both Vietnam-era Vets, and Cuyahoga County Council President C. Ellen Connally, who’s son served in Iraq and Afghanistan, were in attendance, along with Timothy Gorell, Director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.
Retired Judge Sara J. Harper was the keynote speaker for the graduation, which took place on the third floor of the Cleveland Cliffs Building at 200 Public Square.  Judge Harper was the first woman to serve on the judiciary of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and one of two black women to become the first females to win seats on the Ohio Court of Appeals in 1990.
The Veterans Treatment Docket brings together all parties that assist honorably discharged veterans with their substance abuse, mental health, housing, employment, education and health issues.  The criteria used to select the individuals is the same criteria used by the Court for other specialized dockets

The docket addresses the special needs of veterans of the U.S. Armed Services and National Guard, who become involved with the criminal justice system in the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.  A total of 25 vets were on the docket when the program started.

There are currently 75 defendants on the Veterans Treatment Docket.